Complicated Ceremonies
by NessaMoon
Summary: All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans.  Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!
1. Ceremonial Decisions: Wedding Snags

Normally, I don't post chapters all at once, but the circumstances regarding this fanfic are unusual. *is so tired*

Hi, everyone! This is my current project I've been working on since the end of April. It has had my undivided attention for a long while, what with the research it needed, the panic that over took me on realizing how long it was getting and the general rushed feelings I got on finishing this on time.

I keep my comments short this time. The chapter itself is long enough! No need for my big mouth to make it longer!

Special Thanks to Tennyo_night_elf, an online friend of mine. Without her, I doubt this would have ever been finished! Thank you so much!

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre:** Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**Ceremonial Decisions: Wedding Snags**

A sharp crack rang through the late November day, disrupting the tranquil afternoon that had fallen upon the dirt road leading to Konoha. Birds, upset over the noise, took to the skies, leaving the trees that lined the path, shading it with its colorful foliage. The two people walking gave their scenic route little interest.

Especially the one shrieking in pain.

"Owww!"

"Hey! Loser! I am not stopping every time you get your head in the clouds! Focus!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head where Sasuke had hit him, glaring at his teammate's retreating back as he continued down the way they had been headed. It was a beautiful day for being so late in the season and Naruto felt like nothing could be more perfect. He had successfully completed his last mission without a single problem to report, Tsunade was preparing him to be her official successor as Hokage and...a week ago, Hinata accepted his proposal for marriage.

A huge grin appeared on his face. Just the thought of Hinata's face lighting up when he asked her to marry him, her saying yes, her seeing, for the first time, the engagement ring; a thin silver band that widened at the top, a row of blue stones embedded into it, gold lines on each side of the blue stones leading up to the very top, wrapping around a purple stone and the feeling he got when he slid the ring onto her finger caused him to smile giddily and lose track of what was going on...

Another smacking sound echoed in the trees. "Owww!"

Sasuke stood in front of him again, wearing a bothered look on his face, with his hand raised as he had just smacked him in the head...again. "I told you," growled Sasuke, "I'm not going to stop again. I'm not going to get yelled at by the Hokage because you're off in daydream land!"

Naruto returned the look with an annoyed glare. "Oh, shut up, Sasuke!" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I have every right to be happy this week!"

Of course, Sasuke knew that. Team 7 had been the first to know about his plans to ask Hinata to marry him and her answer afterward when the two came to Ichiraku to celebrate. But the two rivals had to continue to push each other's buttons in ways only they knew how. So Sasuke did not crack a smile at what Naruto said and instead turned to continue toward the village. "I never said you couldn't be happy, idiot," he responded, sounding irritated. "I just said stay focused. You're supposed to meet with the Hokage now. You keep stalling and she's only going to get angry at you when we get there."

"Hmph!" Naruto took his hands out of his pockets and placed them behind his head as he followed his friend down the path. "You're likely just mad because you're playing messenger boy, aren't you, Sasuke? What? Not worth your time?"

Sasuke paused, his fingers on his sword as if he thought of whipping it out at any moment, but then he whirled around, glaring furiously at Naruto. "For your information, I had just completed my mission when Tsunade asked me to get you. I just happened to be in the room. Got that, you idiot!"

_Bull's-eye! _Knowing full well what would happen if he continued, Naruto smirked. "Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that...messenger boy!"

In a flash, the two were skirmishing, fighting each other briefly with only a bit of taijutsu. Unfortunately for Naruto, the brawl ended quickly when Sasuke tripped Naruto, grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him down the path until they reached the end where the village started and Naruto's loud protests could be heard.

"So," started Sasuke as he let go of Naruto and straightening his dark blue shirt he wore under his jounin vest and black pants, acting like the whole incident had not happened at all, "what exactly are you and Hinata planning for your wedding, anyway?"

Naruto stood up, taking the time to brush off the dirt from his orange and black jumpsuit. "We talked about having a small and quiet ceremony, but we don't know what kind of wedding we want. We're thinking of having it sometime in the spring, through, so we've got lots of time to think."

"Small and quiet, huh?" Sasuke appeared thoughtful. "If you had told me that years ago, I would have laughed at you. I wouldn't think you were capable of wanting something small and quiet."

Naruto did not say anything at first. He honestly thought he had not changed all that much over the years. People still complained he was loud and obnoxious. He still wore his orange and black jumpsuit his opponents laughed at...until he had them down on the ground ready to take into custody. He played pranks and ate ramen. Except for his skills, which he was more than happy to brag about had changed, what was different about him at twenty-four that was not there when he was sixteen or even twelve?

Although Iruka had said he had become sort of a recluse. Naruto did want more peace and quiet than he had ever wanted before. The villagers had tone down their excitement whenever they saw him over the years, but it remained a bit overwhelming for Naruto. Some days, he actually had to find time to be alone. Which, of course, lead to people trying to find him, taking hours to do so and yelling at him when he finally showed up.

Perhaps he had not so much changed as he had adapted to the times?

In response to Sasuke's comment, Naruto ended up shrugging his shoulders. "Everyone deserves to have some peace and quiet every now and then, you know."

Sasuke smirked, as if he had not expected that answer, but at the same time, found it unsurprising. "Yeah, that's true."

They continued to head toward the tower in relative silence. Naruto wondered why exactly Tsunade wanted to see him. He figured it was not a mission as he had already been to the tower and found nothing for him. While there was always a chance something had come up, he knew Sasuke would not have been sent to get him if there were. They also were not in a rush to get to the tower, either, and so whatever this was could not be urgent; no matter how angry Sasuke said Tsunade would be if he were late.

_Maybe it has to do with the Hokage succession? _speculated Naruto, putting his hands behind his head as they continued toward their destination. _The old lady__ said there's a ton of stuff I have to do before she can officially name me her successor. But she also said it would be awhile before I would have to worry __about__ anything __really __important, through. _

Mentally, Naruto shrugged off his worries. He could not think of anything he should be troubled about and knew if something were truly wrong, Tsunade would not send someone for him and not have it explained before he got there.

Besides, Naruto was feeling so good about the day that he felt like nothing could ruin it and the week he had had. So whatever it was Tsunade had for him, well, he always did like surprises!

"Naruto..." Sasuke's voice sounded extremely tried and irritated.

"Umm? Yeah, Sasuke?"

"...I told you...focus!"

_oOo_oOo_

Sakura and Ino nearly spit out their drinks when Hinata informed them of the type of ceremony she and Naruto had planned. "Small and quiet?" asked an incredulous Ino, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "The same Naruto who had a prank war with Kiba a month ago in the village? That Naruto? They only just finished cleaning up the barbeque restaurant and Chouji is still angry with them over it!"

Hinata could not help but giggle slightly at their reaction. Next to her, Tenten shook her head, smiling as well. The four girls sat at Ichiraku, eating ramen as they discussed Hinata's engagement. As she had been the only one of them who had not gotten married yet, the occasion deserved to be celebrated at their usual gathering to talk.

Through, there were times when Hinata thought this time only served for them to poke fun at the boys.

Picking up a bit of her ramen, Hinata replied to Ino's statement, "Naruto-kun and I just want a private ceremony with our close friends and family. He really is a quiet person when he needs to be." Ino snorted as if the image could not be fully envisioned in her mind. "However, I like it better when Naruto-kun's more himself."

Tenten chuckled, swirling her drink around as she waited for Ayame to finish with her order. "That's a mark of a good marriage, all right, being able to handle Konoha's Hyperactive Ninja. The whole private wedding thing makes sense to me. Naruto has become somewhat of a recluse, thanks to all the fame he and Team 7 has." She laughed as Ayame placed her bowl of Miso ramen in front of her. "Remember how long it took for us to find him two weeks ago?"

Sakura groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, I remember that," she growled. "We never found him, actually. And then four hours later, he walks up here like nothing had happened. I guess you have a point there." She took a sip of water and placed the cup back down, sighing as she did so. "While he's still very much a show-off, Naruto has been avoiding public areas more than normal. A private wedding isn't that much of a surprise after all, then."

"So..." started Ino, taking a bit of ramen from her bowl to eat. She looked like she wanted to get away from talking about Naruto and his multiple personalities. "Have you worked out the details with the elders yet?"

The question caused everyone else to pause and glance toward Hinata for her answer. It was not a surprise that some of the elders were wary of Naruto marrying the heir of the Hyuuga. After all, this was the same Naruto who vowed to change the Hyuuga at his first Chuunin exam so it was natural for the more traditional of the clan to question the marriage. "Father is still working with them, however, he says to not to worry about it and continue planning. He even said I can take Naruto's name after our marriage is official."

Ino blinked, the information surprising her. "Really? I wasn't sure about that before since you're the heir. Did he give a reason as to why?"

Hinata nodded, but not feeling happy over what her father said when she had asked. In the end, she figured the reasons behind it were not as important as her wish being granted in the end. "Yes, he believes that the Hyuuga can gain political influence if the Uzumaki name is attached to the clan. He thinks it would be wasteful not to since Naruto's famous and going to become Hokage. At least, that's what he's telling the elders..."

Ino seemed to realize she was uncomfortable with that reasoning because a soft smile appeared on her face. "Don't be too concerned about that. I'm sure your father is just trying to do what's best and what you and Naruto want. It's the elders who need to be convinced. I doubt Hyuuga-sama would have told you not to worry about it if he didn't care about your feelings on the matter."

Hinata felt herself relax at Ino's words. She was right; while Hiashi had seemed to approve of their dating, she and Naruto had been slightly concerned over his reaction toward their engagement. Finding him strict, but helpful in getting the elders to approve had been a huge relief for the two of them. Well, she felt relieved. Naruto said Hiashi had threatened him when they were alone.

She was surprised to hear it as her father had expressed approval toward him before, but Naruto would not lie. Of course, that could explain why her father spent more time in the Hyuuga's weapon room now...

"I think they're not going to be happy with your name change at all," commented Tenten, "political influence or not." She sighed and stirred her ramen, looking for another bite. "Things like this make me glad my team isn't on the level of popularity as Team 7 is and that I never gave my family name out on missions!"

Ino struggled not to laugh while Sakura elbowed Tenten in the arm. "That's not nice." Sakura looked a bit irritated. "I'm on Team 7, remember? I have to deal with that popularity and I changed my name when I married Sasuke-kun."

"Well, you're not a member of a clan, Forehead Girl," snorted Ino. At once, the two began to glare at each other. Tenten looked on, mildly interested, and Hinata finished up her ramen, both far too used to the fights between Sakura and Ino to put effort into separating the two.

Hinata put her chopsticks down and got up from her seat. "Well, I'll be going now," she said, putting down some money for her share of the bill. "I promised Father I would meet with him today. He's going to tell me what happened during his meeting with the elders. I'll see you later, then."

"Good luck with that!" chimed Tenten. "See you later, Hinata!"

"Later, Hinata!" called out Ino and Sakura at the same time, not breaking eye contact with the other even once.

Halfway to the Hyuuga compound, Hinata began to dwell on her conversation with the girls and the upcoming meeting. _I must be realistic,_ she thought, her head down as she strolled through the village. _The elders might not approve of this at all. I know Father said we should do what we wish, however, the elders might cause trouble. What would happen then? To Father and Hanabi?_

She knew the elders would disapprove. Naruto represented change for the Hyuuga. For over a year, she, Naruto and Neji had tried to improve things within the Hyuuga clan and the elders always tried to block their efforts. Hiashi had become a go-between for the two groups, but he made it clear which side he preferred, which infuriated the elders and made them even more resistant to change. Hinata felt like the revisions they wanted would not drastically change the Hyuuga at all and would only serve to make things better, but the elders seemed indifferent to her explanations.

It was only recently that they had started to give in, but she knew the fight had not ended just yet. It would be a long time before the Hyuuga would truly be different from the clan of the past.

Sighing as the previous disagreements among her and the elders filtered through her head, Hinata tried to find resolve in her father's words to not to worry and Ino's attempt to ease her discomfort.

In the end, she and Naruto would never give up; he had asked her to marry him, she had said yes and the two of them never went back on their word...not ever.

_oOo_oOo_

"Hey! Hey! Old Lady Tsunade! What do you want?"

Tsunade twitched and glared over her desk, her arms crossed and not answering his question. Naruto sat in front of her desk, initially waiting for her to finish working. The Hokage office was as messy as ever; the desk filled with paperwork Tsunade tried to put off for saké or sleep and scrolls and books littered the corners of the room. It was just the two of them; Sasuke had left the moment they had gotten to the tower while Shizune had apparently run off to see to something at the hospital.

"I wanted to ask you..." she said, finally, an edge in her voice, but overlooking his nickname for her, "about the plans you and Hinata have made for your wedding. I'm guessing you haven't entirely made plans since it's only been a week since you proposed. Am I right?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side, blinking slowly, not understanding what she wanted. She was right; they had not gotten very far into planning their ceremony, but why would she need to know that information? He had a feeling this was not like when Sasuke had asked about them earlier. This felt different, but he could not place why he felt that way. "Why do you want to know?"

Tsunade had a peculiar look in her eyes; one that Naruto had trouble placing. "It's nothing bad, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just curious." She leaned forward on her desk, placing her elbows on top and resting her chin in her hands. "I'm guessing you two don't want a really large wedding, correct?"

"Yeah," answered Naruto, still not understanding why Tsunade was asking about this. "It's going to be small and quiet, but we don't know about the details yet. We also want to have it in the spring sometime, too."

She nodded curtly, her eyes becoming unfocused. "I see..." She stood up, walked around her desk and leaned against the front of it while crossing her arms and gazing down at him. It made Naruto uneasy. Tsunade may have said it was nothing bad, but her look said something completely different. "Do you know what your status is right now?" she asked.

_My...status...? _Naruto blinked, absolutely confused now. _What's she talking about? And what does it have to do with my wedding? _"Uhh...no...?" His voice made it clear that he was fishing for the right answer.

"Thought as much." Tsunade sighed, closing her eyes. "Naruto, you're a war hero..."

"I know that!" he interrupted, annoyed. It was a hard fact to forget and on the extremely remote chance he did forget, something reminded him. That detail did not upset him; he just did not see what that had to do with his wedding and this status thing.

"Quiet! On top of that, you're my successor, a fact that, while unannounced, is well known to just about everyone in this village, the other Hidden Villages, the Daimyo and many others. It's likely the worst kept secret in this village." Suddenly, she smirked, obviously holding back laughter. "I think we both know why that is so..."

Despite feeling apprehensive about this line of conversation, Naruto could not help but grin and put his arms behind his head. Iruka said he acted more mature about it, but he was still a loud person, compared to others, much to everyone's displeasure sometimes. He would always proclaim he would become Hokage ever so often; however, he did not do it much now. Mostly because everyone knew his goal so there was not much of a need to go around and shouting it at the top of his lungs.

"In addition to that," she continued, "you're also the son of Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage." Naruto sombered at the mention of his father, but focused on what Tsunade said. Clearly if the Fourth was involved, then this had to be important...somehow. "Putting them all together and you have become a very important person to many factions and in the eyes of a lot of people."

Naruto scratched his head, still not getting it. "Okay, so I'm an important person now. What's that got to do with my wedding?"

Tsunade sighed again. "Everything, unfortunately. It means that people like the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is going to want to attend your wedding."

He blinked once, twice and finally everything registered in his mind. "Huh?" he exclaimed. "But I've never met him before! Why would he want to attend it?"

"It's just something people like him do." She rubbed her temples; her face pained like a headache was coming. "The thing about the Daimyo and other members of their court is that they like to be connected to important people, especially those who are popular with the people they rule over. You fit both of those qualifications."

Naruto crossed his arms, frowning at her explanation. "I don't like that. It seems very shallow and fake to me. Why would anyone want to do something like that?"

Tsunade snorted. Clearly, she agreed with him, even if she was trying to convince him to invite the Daimyo. "I don't know, but that's how things are. And I realize you don't want to invite him. I'm just telling you the facts of the matter: the Daimyo and others, like the Kage of the other villages, are going to want to be invited. Not doing so...well, it'll be a headache, at least with the Daimyo it would be."

At that, he lowered his head, his frown becoming not only displeased but more frustrated at the current predicament he had been handed. _Okay...so if we don't invite the Lord of the Land of Fire, he might get mad or something and that's not good. But... _He winced and groaned. _Me and Hinata just want our friends and family to be there when we get married! Not people we don't know! What do I do here?_

"Naruto?" He looked up to see Tsunade gazing at him expectedly. "I have an idea that could solve this problem. I figured you wouldn't want to invite people you didn't know to the wedding so I came up with a solution that may help."

He stared at her, relief at this prospect being solved. He moved to the edge of his seat, eager to hear what she had in mind. "Well? What it is? Tell me!"

She sighed. "It's going to be a bit difficult, but if you had two weddings, then everything would be fine. You can invite the Daimyo and others like him," she elaborated upon seeing his confused look, "to one wedding and then a few days or a week later, you and Hinata can hold a more private ceremony for yourselves and those close to you."

_Wait...two weddings? TWO? _Naruto stood up, all the color drained from his face at the mere thought of planning two ceremonies. "Two weddings?" he screamed. "Do you realize how much planning that'll take?"

He had every reason to be wary. The memories of what happened last year when Sakura had planned her wedding were vivid, almost nightmarish. She had been stressed out for months, so much so that she lashed out at people for merely breathing. Naruto literally hid for over a week due to one incident. He had seen his other friends' plan their weddings and, while he had not been knocked over to the other side of the village during the course of them, he knew firsthand how much planning went into one.

Two just seemed to be asking for trouble!

Tsunade raised her hands, the pained look on her face growing more so. "Calm down. I understand that it's a bit much. That's why I've asked Shizune to be the planner for that one. All you and Hinata need to do is supervise and make some decisions on ideas Shizune has. That'll be it. Shizune will take care of everything else and you two can focus on your own plans."

Naruto backed off, crossed his arms and gazed down at the floor. He still was not sure about this idea. It felt complicated, even if Shizune handled the more complex planning. "I don't know..."

She nodded and started back to her seat behind her desk. "I understand. This is a very big decision. I'm not going to force this on the two of you." She started moving around some paperwork and Naruto realized he was about to be dismissed. "Talk it over with Hinata and then come to me when you've made your decision, all right?"

_Talk to Hinata... _repeated Naruto in his head. _Right. _She would know what to do better than he could. All he knew was how difficult arranging two weddings would be, but since she was doing more of the planning than he was, she would understand the situation more. Not to mention, she might have other ideas they could use, instead of having two ceremonies. "Right," he said aloud. "I'll talk to Hinata about this, then. Later, then, Old Lady Tsunade!"

He was already halfway down the hall, ignoring the angry screaming of his name that emerged from the Hokage's office.

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata entered her father's study. It was a sparse room that Hiashi enjoyed to be in during the afternoon, especially after meetings with the council. Books and scrolls filled the wall opposite of the door while a large window to the outside occupied the wall to her right. The other two walls remained bare, nothing decorating it except for the brown paint that covered the rest of the room.

Right in front of the bookcase, Hiashi sat on a raised platform, a small table with a calligraphy scroll and a cup of green tea in front of him. He glanced toward her and nodded curtly, indicating that she could join him. Hinata took a deep breath, hoping everything had went well with the elders, and walked over to her father's position and sat down on the bamboo mat flooring. "You wished to see me, Father?" she asked, bowing slightly in the process.

Hiashi put down his brush, his face unreadable to her eyes. "Yes. I have spoken with the council over your engagement to Uzumaki Naruto."

She nodded as her heart began beating rapidly at the possible outcome. "And...what did they say, Father?"

There was a brief pause as he gazed at her and then his mouth twitched upward ever so slightly. "Hinata...did I not tell you not to worry about this?" A warm smile appeared on his face. "The elders have approved of your betrothal."

"...They have?" Hinata could hardly believe her ears. She was sure she would wake up and this would be just a dream. To think that the elders approved of her being engaged to Naruto after the months of political wrangling they had to endure? "Everything?"

Her father seemed amused by her reaction. "Yes, they have approved of everything. It did take some convincing, but in the end, they even agreed to you changing your name, however..." Hiashi suddenly looked serious and business-like. "They do expect you to use the Hyuuga name on the occasions you represent the clan."

Hinata was still in shock over the ease the elders seemed to have accepted everything. It still felt too good to be true. "Oh, of course, Father," she exclaimed, "I will bear the Hyuuga name during official functions. I don't mind that and I don't believe Naruto-kun will mind it, either."

Hiashi nodded, pleased at her answer. "Good."

_Everything went okay,_ she thought, feeling lightheaded with relief. She brought her hand up and pushed away a lock of her hair, closing her eyes, sighing. _Everything went okay, the elders really are not going to interfere. Oh, thank goodness!_

"There is one thing the council wants you to do," said her father, abruptly.

Immediately, Hinata's heart sank. She should have known there was a catch.

Hiashi apparently realized his daughter was feeling apprehensive because he gazed at her amusingly. He took hold of his tea cup and chuckled. "Hinata, I told you not to worry. If the council tried anything unreasonable, I would have warned you and Uzumaki. Do you not trust me?"

"Oh!" Hinata's face turned red and she felt lost for words. "Of course! It's just...I mean, I..."

"It's all right, I understand." Hiashi took a sip of his tea and brought the cup back down to set on the table. "Both you and Uzumaki have concerns about the elders interfering and I don't blame you. However, the request of the council is one I believe is reasonable and one you and Uzumaki can manage effortless in any case, which is why I did not protest it."

Hinata nodded. "I see." _I suppose Father is right. If this request isn't too hard, then we should be able to handle it without any problems. _She took a deep breath and composed herself, relaxing and regaining her previous formal bearing. "Then what does the council wish for Naruto-kun and I to do?"

"They want you to have a traditional ceremony. I managed to convince them to allow the wedding you and Uzumaki wish to plan. As long as you hold it after the traditional one, the council should have no objections." Hiashi gazed up at her, his white eyes curious to her answer.

But Hinata had frozen, the implications filling her head and the potential fallout to it. "A traditional wedding?" she asked, hoping she had heard wrong, but at her father's nod, she knew there was no room for error. "Father..." she started, almost afraid, not of his reaction, but of the long term complications this now held, "I'm afraid...I don't believe Naruto-kun has seen a traditional wedding before..."

In the past four years, Naruto had been invited to weddings of their friends. The first had been Ino's wedding to Sai. It had been a very modern wedding with no traditional customs. The second and third weddings had come at roughly the same time, about three years ago, for Gaara, the Kazekage, to Matsuri and Neji to Tenten. Hinata knew that Gaara had a traditional ceremony, but Naruto had not attended that since it had been for family only. Instead, he attended the larger wedding Suna held for the public.

Neji and Tenten held a mix wedding of sorts, applying certain traditions and other customs so not all aspects of the traditional ceremony had been there. The final wedding Naruto had attended had been Sasuke and Sakura's last year. Their wedding had been modern with a traditional theme, meaning they dressed up in traditional dress, but with modern rituals. Hinata remembered Naruto had asked her a lot of questions about each ceremony, saying he had never been to a wedding before.

Hiashi paused, clearly taking in this new information. "Hmmm I see...yes, Uzumaki is an orphan so he would not be acquainted with weddings or the customs that come with them." But then, he smiled, taking his tea and sipping it again. "However, I'm sure he can handle it," he said, putting his cup down on the table. "He is very capable and the rituals are simple enough. He should learn them easily. However, I'll assign someone to manage the ceremony so you will not feel too burdened and go over it with both of you. Will that be satisfactory?"

Hinata lowered her head, biting her lip, unsure of what to do. She did not doubt Naruto could learn the customs involved; she just felt like there was more to it than she and her father knew. There was also the fact that there would now be two weddings to take care of, not just one, and while they would not manage both, it was still a daunting task...

_But if we refuse, then what will the council say? _she thought, fear nibbling at her mind. _The council might start trouble, especially if what I believe is in fact true... _She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Father," she said, "would it be all right if I speak with Naruto-kun about this request?"

"Of course," he replied. "I see nothing wrong with that. However, the council will want to know your answer by tomorrow."

"I understand." She stood up, indicating she was leaving. "I'll go and speak with him now." She bowed and then quickly made her way out of his study, the conversation playing out in her mind.

_We might be able to handle two weddings... _she thought, as she swiftly made her way out of the Hyuuga Main House and grounds. _We might...if things go as planned...but if it is as I fear... _She sighed, knowing upsetting herself would not solve anything. She had to talk to Naruto about the new situation. She felt like she already knew how he would respond. He would go at the traditional ceremony head on without any concern, willing to do anything to keep his word.

Stepping out of the main gate, now outside the Hyuuga compound, she smiled. Perhaps they could handle both ceremonies, regardless of the motives behind one of them...

_oOo_oOo_

_Three weddings..._

Naruto felt like his world was swirling around his head, making him dizzy and unable to grasp anything at all. Across the table in his apartment, Hinata sat looking the same, like the wind had just been knocked out of her. Suddenly, the simple wedding they wanted, the joy of their engagement, felt so far away. Only the terrifying aspect of planning three weddings remained in their wake...

He hung his head, closing his eyes, sighing, his thoughts screaming protests. _Man...why can't things be easy for once? Why can't we just have something simple? That's not too hard, is it?_

"Naruto-kun?" said Hinata, breaking the silence that had fallen between them, "What do we do?"

He shook his head, unsure how to answer, not knowing the answer itself. "I don't know. Old Lady Tsunade seemed pretty certain that there might be trouble if the Daimyo isn't invited to a wedding." He looked up, a hopeful gaze in his eyes. "You wouldn't have any ideas for this, would you?"

Unfortunately, she shook her head, staring at the table. "No, I'm afraid I don't. I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. I think Tsunade-sama is right. Having a ceremony for the nobles to see would satisfy them. They wouldn't mind if we held a private one later."

Naruto shook his head, feeling his head hurt at the complex planning he knew would come. He had a feeling this would make the planning for Sakura's wedding look easy in comparison. _Wait... _he thought, his two teammates coming to mind now, _Sasuke and Sakura-chan are just as famous as me. Why was their wedding private, then? _"Hey, how come the clans don't have nobles coming to their weddings?" he asked, looking up to see Hinata's reaction. "I mean, no one asked to come to Sasuke and Sakura-chan's or even Neji and Tenten. If someone did, I certainly didn't hear about it."

She shook her head. "That's because they wouldn't ask to attend. The clans have always been very private families, separate from the other nobles. They're very steep into their customs and the traditional wedding centers around the two families that will be joined in marriage. "

Groaning, he rubbed the back of his head, hoping his headache would ease. "And because of my position now, a private ceremony won't cut it. Not even if I'm marrying you, right, Hinata?"

"It doesn't look like it. I distantly remember Kurenai-sensei mentioning that Asuma-sensei's brother holding a large wedding the Daimyo attended. But I'm guessing it was smaller than what Godaime-sama has in mind due to the war going on at the time and the fact that the Third's son was not as famous as his father. I suppose it depends on the status of the people involved."

_Asuma-sensei's brother? I guess that's Konohamaru's dad... _Naruto felt his headache get worse. He sighed and laid his head face down on the table. "I guess we've got no choice then. We have to do it."

"However," she added, cringing slightly, "I don't think we can really get out of the elders' idea, either."

Looking up, he blinked, somewhat confused at her reaction. While the traditional wedding idea had concerned him since he knew virtually nothing about it, he was almost okay with it, willing to try it. The only thing keeping him from fully embracing it was the fact it would be another ceremony in addition to the more public one and their private wedding. "What do you mean, Hinata? We can't get out of it? I thought Hiashi said not to worry about what the elders said?"

"He did," she said, poking her fingers together like she used to do long ago. That surprised Naruto. Hinata barely did that anymore, especially when she was nervous. In fact, the only times he had seen her do that was when they were together, almost always accompanied by a slight blush. "I believe Father knows, but since he thinks we can handle it, I don't think he's concerned about it."

She took a deep breath, placing her hands on the table, gripping it tightly. "I think the elders might be using the ceremony as an excuse to make us look bad. If we don't do it correctly, they'll continue to make trouble whenever we try to bring our reforms before them."

Naruto leaned back in his chair, his anger bubbling under the surface. He really did not like this. "So...they're just pushing this onto us just to be more stubborn and refuse to listen to us later on?"

She looked miserable. "Right. We've told the elders that our reforms will improve the Hyuuga clan, but we've also told them that we value some traditions. Like my using the Hyuuga name during official functions, we don't mind doing that." Naruto nodded his head. It was a reasonable compromise, even if they did end changing the Hyuuga leadership role later on. "However, if something goes wrong, if we mess something up, then they'll say we are out to destroy the Hyuuga."

"And then they will dig their heels in and refuse to budge." Naruto snorted, disgusted at this type of political trickery. "They say they care about traditions? I doubt this ceremony they want us to do was meant for this!"

At that, Hinata's face darkened. She leaned back in her chair with her arms folded, gazing sideways at the floor. "You're right," she said, her voice hard with restrained anger. "I doubt anyone would be pleased if this is the truth and it became known. However, at the same time, I doubt we can get out of it."

He figured as much. He had not learned much about politics just yet as Tsunade had only begin to teach him the basics, but he had learned enough in his dealings with the Hyuuga clan to not like the concept at all. And it was already giving him a headache, another headache.

But the idea of dealing with three weddings? The prospect still felt overwhelming to take, not something anyone living would even want to undertake willingly. An automatic refusal seemed to be the response for anyone sane. Naruto felt tired just thinking about them. Across the table, Hinata looked to be just as weary, weighed down by the idea just as much as he was. His thoughts didn't help much. "_How can we deal with three weddings? The mere idea is stressing us out and the actual planning is bound to be worse. There's no way we can deal with that stress; that's got to be too difficult to manage. There has to be an easy way to deal with them?_

Then something came to Naruto, an idea to deal with the troublesome weddings in an easy fashion without having to do very much. He felt his stomach explode with excitement...and stress. It was crazy and he was not sure how it would be received.

But yet, as Naruto looked up, knowing he must have a desperate look on his face, he had to ask. The idea he considered, he knew would be rejected, but yet, somehow, the hope it offered, the hope of escaping all their problems, was too tempting to ignore. No one could say he did not try. "Hinata?" he asked. "Is it possible that we could just not have a wedding at all? What's the word again? Eloop?"

"Elope?" Hinata looked horrified.

"Yeah!" However, his enthusiasm was dying quickly at her apparent dismay. "Is...that...Is that possible?"

She held her shaking hands to her mouth and her eyes wide in fear. "My father would kill us! I know he'll kill you! Naruto-kun, we can't do that, we can't!" She shook her head violently as if to prove her point. "We just can't!"

"All right, all right, no eloping..." Naruto sighed, trying to ignore the alluring idea of getting away from it all. Then he blinked, realized what he was thinking and laid his head down, groaning. "I guess it's bad to run away from it all. Sorry, Hinata."

"It's okay," she said, her voice still fearful, rubbing her hands together agitatedly. "It's all right; it's just the stress talking. That's all."

Abruptly, Naruto rose up, startling Hinata. He had to pump up his mood. He could not afford to be depressed any more. He thought back to what he learned about politics. One thing he had learned was that the best way to convince someone of something was to go along with them. So if that's what he needed to do, then so be it. They would do the weddings, then. If the Hyuuga elders wanted a traditional wedding, then Naruto would learn everything he could about it and do it correctly. If the Daimyo wanted to come and attend his wedding, then he would be happy to greet him.

"Right!" he said, finally feeling energized for the first time since he left Tsunade. "So they want weddings? Okay, then! We'll hold both of them and show them. We've been through so many fights, Akatsuki and others so what's a couple of extra weddings going to do to us, right?"

She looked surprised at first, but then a determined look appeared on her face. "Right!"

"We can do this! We can handle it!"

"Right!" Hinata looked energized, too, and that caused him to pause for a moment. Frowning, he glanced over to Hinata, right into her face that had been filled with determination, her white eyes firm with resolve.

As much as he was willing to plough through this head-on, he had to know if Hinata truly felt the same way. If she was not...well, what could he do then? "Hinata...are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his voice low, impassive. "Because if you don't want to, then I'm with you, whatever happens, we'll go through it together."

Hinata nodded understandingly. "I know," she responded, softly. "I'm glad that we'll be together, no matter what." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, let the air gush out of her and then she opened them again, looking to be ready for anything. "I think we should do it. Yes, it'll be more difficult, but it's possible that something good can come out of all of this."

"Right." The elders could relent, finally. He was not sure what the Daimyo attending could bring, but not everything could be readily apparent. But the possibility remained: the wedding could bring out something good, whatever that may be. "You're right. Well, if you're in..."

Hinata gripped the table, biting her lip. "I am," she said, "I really am."

"Then let's go for it!" he nodded, grinning, gripping the table as well as he still felt very worried about it all, despite his confident words. "Let's do it."

Sitting at his kitchen table, having just decided to undertake what could be possibly their most difficult challenge ever, Naruto tried not to think about the various steps they would have to take to plan, the focus they would have to have and the problems that could arise. He wanted to keep positive and not think negativity.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Hinata?"

"What am I going to tell my father about having a _third _wedding to plan?"

And so as their preparations started; their first problem had come.

* * *

So…what did everyone think? Naruto and Hinata have found themselves in a difficult situation. And it's only going to get worse…what, did I say that out loud? *hides*

Thanks for reading! – NessaMoon


	2. Ceremonial Decisions: Planners & Friends

Three weddings…that's quite the undertaking. I think that might scare away the Akatsuki. Or any villain for that matter! Let's see if Naruto and Hinata can manage it!

This chapter shows our favorite couple meeting with their wedding planners and friends. The planners, a Hyuuga elder and Shizune, have got some surprises in store. I think they might be regretting taking on this project…

Their friends…are really going to regret that they did.

Enjoy!

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre: **Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)

**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**Ceremonial Decisions: Planners & Friends**

It had taken some time to convince Tsunade and Hiashi to hold three weddings; Hiashi had not been pleased with the idea that Naruto and Hinata may reside under the same roof before the larger ceremony while Tsunade had been concerned over the stress the whole process would put on the two. Unfortunately, both were adamant that the other ceremony be dropped.

Iruka and Kurenai, recruited to help sort everything out, managed to convince both leaders that the weddings were doable and could be held close enough that Naruto and Hinata agreed to wait until after all three weddings were done before living together.

They relented in the end and the dates were set; the Hyuuga ceremony and the Konoha wedding would take place the last week of February and then Naruto and Hinata would hold their more private wedding a week after in March.

Naruto sighed, the plans running through his mind in a chaotic fashion as he and Hinata, hand in hand, headed toward the Hyuuga compound. Everything may have been settled in the end; however, he could not help but think that the next few months were going to be extremely hectic.

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay?"

He turned to see Hinata giving him a concerned look. Not bothering to put on a huge grin when he knew she would see through it, he smiled softly. "Yeah, somewhat. I'm just worried about this meeting and our plans."

Hinata nodded. She looked a bit uneasy about it herself. "It is going to be a very difficult endeavor, but I think we'll make it." She took a step closer to him so she could lean her head on his shoulder, feeling more at ease by doing so. "We always have..."

This time, Naruto's smile was genuine. She was right, of course. He may not know anything about weddings, but if they could face all of that and Hyuuga politics, then perhaps they would get through three ceremonies. "Yeah, I guess you're right. So who's this Hyuuga elder we're meeting again?"

"Her name is Tokiwa-sama." Hinata lifted her head from Naruto's shoulder to glance at him. "She is close friends with my father. They interacted with each other as children and she's one of the few elders supporting us." She lowered her head and brought her hand up to her chest. "After my mother died, she took charge of my formal education; teaching me about tea ceremonies and flower arranging."

Naruto squeezed Hinata's hand again at the mention of her mother. "So then this Tokiwa would know a lot about the traditional wedding?" he asked. The name did not sound familiar at all to him; however, the only elders he interacted with were the ones who opposed the reforms the most. If Tokiwa supported them, then not knowing her was expected.

She nodded. "Yes. I'm guessing this is why Father chose her. She is someone he can trust who also knows a lot about the subject."

He grinned. "Well then, I guess we won't have anything to worry about. If she likes us, she'll make it easy for us, right?"

For the first time today, Hinata smiled, his optimism filling the both of them. "Right!"

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto had been to Hyuuga council meetings before. In their efforts to bring about change within the Hyuuga clan, he had been there to support Hinata and Neji and even speak to the elders themselves. However, when Hinata had told him about this Lady Tokiwa, he had no idea who she was.

Now Naruto remembered her: Lady Tokiwa, her graying hair pulled into an elegant bun, sat in the back dressed in a plain gray kimono behind the other members of the council, always quiet, but with a look that told him that her white eyes took in everything she saw. Naruto had always overlooked her since she seemed to have nothing to say, but now, after greeting her and settling down in her tea room next to Hinata, he felt a bit uneasy except he could not figure out why he felt that way.

Hinata bowed to her, which Naruto quickly copied. "Tokiwa-sama," she said, "Father told us that we should meet with you today."

Naruto saw Tokiwa nod slightly. "I am aware. You have come to talk about the wedding, correct?" she said. Her face betrayed no emotion. If Hinata had not told him she supported them, Naruto would have had a hard time telling what side she was on.

"Yes," replied Hinata as she folded her hands in her lap and rested her gaze directly at the elder.

"Very well then." Tokiwa's eyes suddenly focused on Naruto, who quickly tensed up. "Uzumaki Naruto. I believe Hyuuga-sama said you have no knowledge of the wedding ceremony."

_Good impression_, thought Naruto. _Good impression!_ He was eager to make this work, if only because it would prove to the elders they were not out to destroy the clan with their reforms, they were okay with some traditions and the changes they wanted were in the best interests of the clan. He had a feeling that everything he said and did here would be reported back to the other members of the council. "Yea...yes," he said, trying to be formal, but feeling pretty awkward about it. He grinned sheepishly to fend off his nerves. "I...uh...really don't know much about it..."

"I see. Then I believe it would be best to start at the beginning." Abruptly, her demeanor changed; she seemed a bit more relaxed and happy, yet never lost her elegance. It was like she enjoyed talking about this. At the same time, through, her eyes seemed to be very cold, sending a shiver down Naruto's spine. "The ceremony will take place at the Hyuuga Shine within the compound. You must be ready by three o'clock; however, we will not start for thirty minutes. The ceremony will begin by making a vow to the deity and wait for the priest to purify us."

She continued, explaining the prayers that would be read, by both the priest and themselves, and the ceremonies involving drinking sake, which Naruto privately noted to skip over Rock Lee, should he be invited. The prayer part concerned him; he did not know any of them. Tokiwa assured him he would be reading some of them off a scroll and would provide them for him to look up later. He also felt worried about the saké ceremony since again, he did not know what to do and would be the one to go first. Again, Tokiwa assured him they would go over it.

Yet somehow Naruto did not feel at all assured.

"...Finally, we'll have the reception, which will be held within the confines of the Main House. Now for what you'll be wearing, Hinata-sama will, of course, wear a wedding kimono that has been passed down in the Hyuuga family for generations. You, Uzumaki, will wear traditional clothes, the haori, hakama and a formal kimono, black and white only is preferred." Her eyes fell upon him as Naruto paled, wondering if he had what she specified. "Do you have those items in your possession?"

He glanced down, trying to think of what he had. There were plenty of the more causal Kimono, the Yukata, but he knew that was inappropriate for a wedding. He had a formal kimono that he had gotten for Sasuke and Sakura's wedding, but it was dark blue, not black. He had a few haori, a loose and light jacket, none black, of course. As for the hakama, skirt like pants that could be divided or undivided, he was positive that he did not have that. "Uh..."

"Um...Tokiwa-sama?" interrupted Hinata, saving him from answering. "I don't believe Naruto-kun has those clothes, at least none appropriate for the traditional ceremony."

The Hyuuga elder glanced toward her with an emotionless expression and nodded, curtly. "I see. Well, then, we shall take care of that as well." Then she smiled. "I believe we had covered every important detail. Everything, from the ceremony to the reception, will be taken care of so the two of you need not to worry about a thing." Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other. She appeared not to be very reassured by those words.

She brought one hand up and, immediately, three servants appeared and placed tea in front of them. "We shall have something to drink. I'm sure you must be thirsty." She took her cup and raised it up to her face. "After we are done, you may take your leave."

About thirty minutes later, Naruto and Hinata were walking through Konoha, heading toward their next destination. "I don't like it, Hinata," said Naruto, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "This Tokiwa lady doesn't feel right to me."

She nodded, having remained subdue and quiet since leaving the Hyuuga estate. "I agree," she said, sighing and gazing at the ground. "I'm not sure what it is, but there was something odd about Tokiwa-sama. She seemed distant and aloof."

"Was she always that perky when she was teaching you?" asked Naruto.

Hinata bit her lip, her eyes becoming unfocused. "Well, not exactly. She always seemed happy when she explained flower arranging and other customs. I remember one of her servants telling me it's a quirk of hers."

"But nothing like that?" He was beginning to be very worried at what Tokiwa's motives were.

"No, nothing like that."

Naruto cringed, glancing over his shoulder, despite the compound far out of his sight.

Hinata, too, looked deep in thought. "I suppose...we could do some of these things on our own...perhaps?" He turned to her, surprised at her suggestion. "Some of it would be easy like getting the clothing, but others like practicing the saké ceremony, might be a bit more difficult. We might have to ask our friends for help."

The couple stopped as Naruto contemplated the suggestion. He liked the idea. Having friends help would be a vast improvement over the stuffy elders fussing over them. Provided they would agree to it and Naruto thought they would. "Yeah!" he said, his excitement returning. "That would be great! We should ask them when all of us get together after we meet with Shizune-neesan."

Hinata nodded happily. "That's exactly what I was thinking. So that's one thing we've taken care of."

Naruto grinned as they started walking again, this time with a bit of spring in their step than after leaving the Hyuuga compound. "Then let's tackle the next thing on our list!"

_oOo_oOo_

Never before had she seen Shizune this frazzled. Coming and going from the Hokage Tower, Hinata had seen Shizune look calm, a bit flustered, which coming from the stories she had heard from Sakura, was to be expected of anyone who assisted Tsunade. Even if Shizune had looked normal instead of appearing like she had just stepped out of bed and very stressed out, the room they were in was evidence enough to the complicated endeavor they had undertaken.

The table they sat at had papers and scrolls strewn all over. Paper was tacked to the walls with circles, question marks or X's painted over them. Books hid in the corners or at the edge of the table. It looked almost like Tsunade's office.

"All right..." started Shizune, glancing down at her clipboard stuffed with paper, "So to start with, we're inviting over five hundred guests..."

"Huh? Five hundred?" exclaimed Naruto, his face turning sheet-white. Even Hinata felt that was a bit high of a number. "How...Why...what's with that number?" he asked.

Shizune cringed and rubbed her eyes. She looked tired. "Well, the announcement of your engagement has attracted a lot of attention. We're inviting every noble court and officials in each country as well as those within the Hidden Villages. However," she added, as both Naruto and Hinata grew very shocked over the amount of guests, "we're not expecting everyone to come. At the very least, we expect less than half that number, possibly a representative from each country, the Kage from each village as well as their families, the only nation we expect the entire noble court to attend is the Land of Fire's."

Hinata nodded gratefully and glad she would not have to do this in front of so many people. It was unnerving enough to have people she did not even know watching. Naruto, however, continued to gawk, blinking confusingly a few times. "Wait..." he said, "why are we inviting so many people if they're not coming in the first place?"

"To be polite," responded Shizune. "If we didn't invite certain people, they would get offended and try to cause trouble. It's less troublesome to invite everyone and let them decline."

Naruto turned to Hinata, staring with incredibility in his eyes as if he thought that sounded like the exact opposite of less troublesome. "Okay..." he said, but did not sound like he agreed, "so what's next?"

Shizune scanned her list. "Tsunade-sama thinks it would be better if this ceremony is considered Konoha's wedding," she stated, setting the clipboard down onto the table. "It would be showcasing our village to the outside, meaning using businesses within Konoha for food, dresses, flowers..." She gave an awkward smile, as Naruto and Hinata chuckled. Ino would be furious with them if they did not use the Yamanaka flower shop. "...You get the idea. The villagers are free to attend the wedding without invitations and we're still planning the site to use for the ceremony. We're thinking of an outside ceremony since they will be so many people."

"That sounds nice," said Hinata, glancing at Naruto to see what he thought of the idea. He looked pleased, smiling and eyes sparkling. "I would like it if the villagers could contribute. Doing this for the village would be better than the nobles."

Naruto snorted. "Definitely better than nobles. I'll do anything for the villagers."

"Good." Shizune flipped through her clipboard and shuffled some papers to her. "Now we've got to briefly go over every bit of the wedding."

Hinata paled. Every bit? "Shizune-san...?"

Naruto laughed, but to Hinata, it sounded more like a nervous one. "Briefly, huh? That won't take long..." He glanced between the two women who gave no indication that the explaining would be short. "...Right?"

Hinata sighed. _We're going to be late to meeting with our friends..._

_oOo_oOo_

"Three weddings!" Ino looked positivity gleeful. "That means lots of planning and lots of business for the flower shop!"

Everyone glared at the blonde girl as she rambled happily over the prospect of the three ceremonies. The only ones not gazing angrily at her were Sai, who was merely happy that his wife was happy, the barbeque restaurant owner, who instead glared at Kiba and Naruto as if they plotted to start another prank war any minute, and Naruto and Hinata, who both looked too tired to mount a furious retort.

Sasuke shifted his gaze from Ino to his teammate. He was not sure what to make of Hiashi and Tsunade's plans, but he remembered all too well when Sakura planned their wedding. He wondered if the newly-engaged couple could handle the stress. "Three weddings?" he asked. "Is that even necessary? I guess I could understand the Hyuuga elders, but one for nobles?"

Across from him, Shikamaru groaned. "Unfortunately. Not sure if it's ever been this huge. I remember Asuma-sensei saying his brother had to have a wedding where a bunch of nobles from the Land of Fire were invited."

"I remember that," said Ino, snapping herself awake from the daydreams she was having for Naruto and Hinata's wedding. "According to my mom, it was supposed to be a grand affair, at the time. A lot of the villagers came to watch."

That info seemed to deflate the couple even more. Sasuke shook his head, thinking such a huge ceremony was a waste and certainly not needed if Naruto did not want one. He supposed he should be grateful he came from a clan and did not have to deal with the court from the capital. However, since this concerned his rival-teammate-best friend, he guessed he needed to inquire into it more deeply than others might.

Kiba glanced down at the recently engaged couple, confusion etched onto his face as he swallowed the piece of meat he had just picked up. "But why would the Daimyo be concerned over Naruto's wedding?" he asked, looking at everyone for an answer. "I mean, Sasuke and Sakura are famous, too, just like Naruto. Why did no one start going on about attending their wedding?"

Naruto promptly let his head hit the table, carefully avoiding the grill so not to burn his forehead, as if the question Kiba just asked triggered some deep memory of pain. Shino adjusted his goggles as he carefully placed his cooked meat onto a plate. "The interest of the nobles in Naruto and Hinata's impending marriage isn't just about the fame of Team 7. It also concerns the Hokage succession. It is a well-known fact that Naruto will succeed the Godaime. This is certain to make the Land of Fire interested in attending."

Everyone turned and stared at Naruto, still wincing with his head on the table, like they wanted to laugh at the fact that his loud mouth had finally gotten him into a situation he could not get out of. They opted not to do that, mostly because the daunting task ahead held more urgency than teasing their dear friend and future leader.

"In addition to that," added Neji, "Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage, who is revered by a great many people."

Chouji nodded, sighing as he picked at his barbequed meat, almost like his appetite had been ruined. "Yeah, like Ino said, Asuma-sensei's brother had a huge wedding that the nobles attended, remember? The only reason that was held was because the Third Hokage was his father."

_There's really no way out of it,_ thought Sasuke. Even if Naruto came up with a reason not to have the wedding, someone would just turn around and give another why it should be held. _Naruto's really found himself in a no-win situation here... _He scowled, knowing full well what was coming. They would all get dragged in to help somehow.

Sai had been watching the discussion with a blank face, calmly observing it like he normally did with a subject he was unfamiliar with. Then he glanced down at his plate, as if struck by something in his mind. "But why would the Hyuuga elders force Naruto and Hinata to have this traditional wedding, as you called it?" he asked. He looked up, gazing around at everyone for an answer. "What sort of traditions does this wedding ask for?"

Tenten sighed. "It's actually a lot more complicated than you would think, Sai. There are a lot of different types of weddings and for some, they're required, more or less, depending on your background." She gestured toward herself and Neji, who was nodding in agreement to what his wife said. "Take me and Neji for example. Our wedding was a mix of traditional and customs from my family."

"Right," said Ino. "The elders are a stickler for their traditions and not as flexible as the rest of us. Remember, Sai, how my dad said we had to go to the shrine at some point before or after our wedding?"

Sai nodded, tilting his head as if remembering something. "Yes, I remember. Your father requested us to visit the shrine. He seemed very easygoing in making his request."

This info got almost everyone else's interests, including Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke noticed. No one knew about that. As far as everyone else was concerned, Neji and Tenten had been the only ones who held somewhat of a traditional wedding. No one counted Gaara's since they had been unable to attend it. Even if they simply had gone to the temple and received a blessing, the fact that they were asked to do something at all made Naruto and Hinata realize they had overlooked the elders' insistence on holding an actual traditional ceremony. And their reactions caused Sakura to shift in her seat and Sasuke to have a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Hinata blinked a little bit, biting her lower lip. "I wasn't aware you had done that, Ino-san," she said, hesitatingly.

Ino froze, realizing what she had said. Sai, of course, looked confused, like he could not understand what everyone was concerned about. "I wasn't aware we weren't supposed to tell anyone," he said.

"Well..." started Ino, awkwardly. She kept nervously pushing back her hair and avoided everyone's eyes. "I didn't really think I needed to tell anyone, either. After all, it is somewhat of a private thing."

Hinata sighed and nodded in agreement. Naruto, however, slowly turned to Sasuke, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did you two go to a shrine after your wedding?" he asked.

Sakura groaned. "Yes...my parents asked us to do it. Sasuke-kun said his parents would likely say the same. I didn't think it was a very big deal. Go to the shrine, ask for our marriage to be blessed, walk out..." She shook her head. "I never really thought much about it."

Sasuke refused to feel guilty over this. After all, it was not his fault the elders were being so inflexible over the wedding preparations! "It's a private ritual. Usually, only family is allowed to attend..."

"I thought we considered our team family?"

"...Also, we already had a ceremony people got to attend. There was no point in telling people we were going to a shrine unless we held another ceremony for it, which we didn't. Sakura's family didn't even attend when we went."

Naruto twitched for a moment, but then sighed and returned to gazing tiredly at the table. "Yeah, you're right. No point in telling people about something you're doing yourself."

Sakura and Sasuke looked at their teammate, surprised he took that as well as he did. They really had not thought their trip to the shrine to receive a blessing would cause such a reaction. If they had known the elders would do this to Naruto and Hinata, they would have said something, if it meant it would have helped at all.

On the far end of the table, Lee appeared distraught. "This is a terrible situation! For Naruto-kun and Hinata-san to not be able to enjoy the Youthfulness of their own wedding! It's such a shame! If I could do anything to change the situation, I would not hesitate to do it!"

"Hmm Lee's got a point," mused Kiba. He looked down the table at Naruto and Hinata. "Is there anything we can do to help? I guess we can't change the fact that you're having two weddings more than you want..." he said, with a slight edge in his voice, "but we could help with the preparations, right?"

A general agreement at Kiba's statement filtered through the table. "Actually," started Hinata, "we were planning to ask about that. We could use some help with the weddings."

Naruto nodded. Sasuke thought he looked slightly angry over something, which he had a good guess what it was. "Yeah, I don't trust that Tokiwa lady. So we'll need help with both ceremonies."

Ino's earlier awkwardness over going to a shrine after her wedding disappeared and instead, replaced with excitement. "Oh! I could definitely help! I can go talk with Shizune-san and I could be her assistant! I could help with the flowers and the decorations and..."

For the second time that day, everyone glared at Ino, except Sai, who again just looked happy that his wife was happy. Her face less than pleased, Sakura leaned over past Sasuke, dropping her voice down to a whisper, "Naruto, just say the word and I'll..."

But he shook his head, sighing, still looking far more tired than Sasuke had ever seen his teammate. "No, don't do anything. I think we're going to need all the help we can get."

Sakura reluctantly withdrew and the conversation erupted into who could help with what in the upcoming days of planning. The barbeque owner came around, placing raw meat onto the grills for everyone to enjoy.

_This is a bad idea,_ Sasuke thought as he watched his meal prepare. _One wedding is hard enough to get ready for. And they want Naruto and Hinata to prepare for two in addition to their own? And I can already tell that idiot is likely going to overwork himself...like always..._

He put the cooked meat onto his plate, the conversation around him still lively over the plans. _This is going to be a long three months_...

* * *

Now, no bashing of the rookies, especially Ino. She means well. She really does. Honestly, I thought it was funny and this was one of the first scenes I imagined when I conceived this fic.

And so we meet Tokiwa…what is she planning other than a wedding? Are Naruto and Hinata's fears about her correct?

And poor Shizune! She's going to need a vacation after this!

Onward with the plans!

Thanks for reading! – NessaMoon


	3. Ceremonial Plans: Priests, Sake & Stress

The wedding planning has officially begun! What craziness shall result due to three weddings being planned at the exact same time! Naruto and Hinata have to meet with people, practice rituals and more troublesome nobles!

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre:** Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**Ceremonial Plans: Priests, Saké & Stress**

Naruto and Hinata stood in his apartment, papers all over the table from both Tokiwa and Shizune. In addition to documents from them, the couple had three clipboards, writing down everything from them so it would stay organized a lot better.

"All right!" said Naruto, picking up a piece of paper on wedding rings. "This one is on rings. Shizune-neesan wants us to order them sometime this month. She's got a lot of suggestions on here..."

Hinata simply wrote down rings on her list. "Is there anything on that list that you like instead what we've already discussed, Naruto-kun?" she asked, teasingly.

He laughed. Unbeknownst to Shizune, they had an idea of what they wanted for in their wedding rings. They just needed to iron out a few details, but it was something they wanted to do on their own. "Nah! I just think Shizune-neesan is over thinking this by a lot. I mean, wouldn't she know we would come up with something on our own?"

"I'm sure she means well," said Hinata, plucking another piece of paper from the table. "She's just trying to help after all. This one is on the wedding kimono you'll need for the ceremony..."

Naruto groaned, remembering it would be strictly black and white...no orange. "I don't see why weddings can't be more colorfully...why is that, Hinata?"

"White is considered pure by many and black is a noble color that goes well with white." Then she smiled and wrote something down on her clipboard. "But that doesn't mean we have to choose those colors for our personal ceremony."

Naruto stared at her, realizing what she was saying. "Really? So I can wear something orange then?"

Hinata giggled. "If that's what you want..." She gazed thoughtfully at her list. "We still have to choose what to wear as well..."

He felt excited. Finally, some good news, though, his friends might see his pick in colors as a bad thing. "Okay, so what's next?" He looked at his clipboard, writing down the part about his traditional kimono onto his list. It looked almost complete.

"I think that's it..." Hinata went through the papers to make sure she did not miss anything. "Yes, I believe we've finished." She leaned back in her seat, wiping her forehead and brushing her bangs back. They fell back to where they were as Hinata glanced at her clipboard. "So we've got the list of things to do for the Konoha wedding..."

"And this is the list of things to do for the traditional ceremony...and we've got the list of things we need to plan for our personal one, too."

Hinata sighed. "We have so much to do and to plan for; it's going to be hard to plan our own wedding."

He nodded, understanding exactly how she felt. This all felt too daunting to be done in less than four months. "Yeah, but we'll do it, Hinata! We promised we would!"

She giggled at his enthusiasm and then smiled brightly. "You're right. We did and we can. We can face this." At his nod, she asked, "So what's the first thing we need to do?"

Naruto glanced down at his clipboard. "That Tokiwa lady wants us to meet with the Hyuuga priest at your temple, I think?"

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto paused at the top of the stones steps to the temple, causing Hinata to stop as well and gaze up at her fiancé curiously. "Huh? This place isn't what I thought it would be..." he said, staring at the very simple building.

Hinata looked at him, somewhat amused. He had always expressed wonderment whenever he visited a new part of the Hyuuga estate, which she found enduring. To her, the vast, yet simple, wealth of the Hyuuga felt very troublesome and she just preferred the simple part, simple being something Naruto valued as well. "What were you expecting?"

He shrugged, looking embarrassed now for thinking it. "I thought it was going to be kind of fancy like some of the bigger temples I've seen."

The Hyuuga shrine certainly was not very fancy. It was fairly large, but also simple. The gate they had entered from had been like others that frequented temples, tall and red with straight top lintels cut at an angle. The stone stairs led to small oratory, painted white with a curved black roof. Stone lion-like dogs were positioned on each side of the walkway in front of the oratory.

"This temple," began Hinata as they started along the path again, "has been in my family for generations. I think Father said once that the exact time my family built it has been lost. And well, the Hyuuga clan is very simple."

Naruto nodded, grinning and sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah. Sorry about that, Hinata."

Knowing how he felt, she smiled to put him at ease and show that she was not upset at all. "It's all right, Naruto. A lot of people tend to expect that when they meet my clan, too. Besides, the people matter more than where they live, right?"

He took her hand, squeezing it as he nodded with a cheerful smile on his face. "Yep and I've got the most important person of all!"

They walked up the steps, walking through the ropes tied to the temple bells and entered the oratory, the place where the Hyuuga wedding ceremony would be held. Tokiwa noticed them immediately and gestured to the priest standing next to her to follow. "Well," she said, once the groups had met, "it is a pleasure to meet with you again, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto and Hinata bowed to both of them, Hinata noticing Naruto discreetly kept an eye on her to make sure he did it right again. "Umm yes," he said, nervously, "it's a pleasure to meet with you, too, Tokiwa-sama."

She nodded, almost approvingly. "I am sure you have conjectured this will be the place where the ceremony will be held. This is Priest Hoshu, who will be conducting the rites."

Hoshu smiled and bowed to the couple. He was a Hyuuga, appeared to be around Tokiwa's age and had the white eyes of the Byukugan along with very short brown hair. He wore white robes and an elaborate headdress that hung at the back. "Pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-san. Hinata-sama."

Hinata nodded briefly at the acknowledgement. "Thanks for having us," said Naruto, nervously smiling. He glanced around the room; Hinata noticed he was hoping to make a good impression on the priest. "This is a really nice place here."

If he was being rude, Hoshu certainly did not think so. He continued to smile as if pleased. "Thank you, Uzumaki-san." He followed Naruto's gaze around the room. "This temple has been within the Hyuuga clan for many generations. My family was placed in charge of caring for this shrine long ago." He gestured toward the back, where two priestesses were sitting, staring at the ground. "Those two are my daughters and they will be helping with the ceremony."

Naruto nodded at the two, who gave no indications they had seen him. "I see."

"Members of the head family," said Tokiwa, "have conducted their marriage ceremony here for many generations. Hyuuga-sama did so with his wife and so did his grandfather and his father before him and so forth." Her cold eyes lingered for a bit on Naruto. "I'm sure you can tell that having Hinata-sama's ceremony here is extremely important."

Hinata bit her lip, glancing toward the two, very uncertain. She knew Naruto did not think too well of Tokiwa and even she had some misgivings about her after the initial meeting. And here again, she was behaving oddly, almost as if she were trying to catch Naruto off guard.

Once again, she saw Naruto grow nervous as he nodded, trying to smile. "Yes, I can understand why you would want this. Don't want to break traditions like that, right?"

Hoshu chuckled, startling Naruto and Hinata both. Tokiwa, however, merely glanced over to the priest as if not moved. "You certainly understand the situation, Uzumaki-san." He quickly turned to Tokiwa and bowed to her. "Tokiwa-sama, I believe I can take over the tour from here. Be not afraid, for I will explain everything to them properly."

"...Very well..." responded Tokiwa, abet somewhat hesitant. She bowed in return and did the same to Naruto and Hinata. "Uzumaki-san, the elders are requesting that you attend dinner with the head family every Friday." She smiled as he grew shocked at the request, but it did not quite reach her eyes. "Consider it a way to getting to know Hinata-sama's family."

Hinata blinked, surprised at the announcement. She had not heard about this from her father. Naruto swallowed. "...Of course," he said, instead. "I'll...be glad to join."

Hinata shifted from one foot to another, remembering what she had told Naruto about the elders trying to make it so they made a mistake and use it against them and their reforms. She watched Tokiwa leave the oratory after quickly acknowledging Naruto. _I really thought Lady Tokiwa would be able to help us...but now... _She sighed softly, hoping the priest would not see her distress. _I'm beginning to wonder..._

"Not very comfortable in front of the elders, are the two of you?"

Naruto and Hinata jumped and turned toward Hoshu, who was smiling softly. "Don't worry," he said, chuckling again. "I have no intention to mentioning that to the elders. I'm not entirely pleased with their reasoning behind this ceremony to begin with anyway," he added with a frown.

That surprised Hinata. She had seen Hoshu on many occasions, during holidays and other special events the Hyuuga celebrated by going to the shrine, but, while he had been very nice to her and Hanabi as children, she barely knew him or his family since they kept to themselves. She had figured he had supported the motion. "Priest Hoshu?"

"You're against the ceremony?" asked Naruto, incredulously.

"Well, yes," he said. "You two are being forced to hold it. If there is one thing I do not approve of, it is forcing traditions. Of course, I made my objections known to the elders when I heard of their plans, however..." He sighed and glanced around the oratory. "It seems my voice is not really important in the larger view of things."

Naruto and Hinata shared a knowing look. When her father had told her he was not worried about the ceremony planned by the elders, she had not considered there had been any objections to it. Was it possible they had another ally and not even know it? "Really, Priest Hoshu?" she asked. "Do you approve of the reforms we're making?"

Unfortunately, the priest sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't, Hinata-sama." Hoshu retrieved a broom that had been leaning against the wall and started to sweep the floor. "I do believe our traditions are important. However, as I said, I do not approve of forcing traditions. I believe it decreases their value. You cannot value a tradition if you are forced into it." His face held a wry smile. "I guess you could say I'm not really against you as I am disagreeing with you."

Hinata nodded, feeling what he said made a lot of sense. She would have to remember to use it next time they spoke to the elders, through she realized, if Hoshu had not succeeded in preventing the ceremony, then the argument would not be much help to them, either.

"That makes a lot of sense," muttered Naruto. "We grow up with traditions and we're told to follow them, but if we don't understand them and why they're there in the first place, we can't really know why they're important. But forcing people to take part doesn't increase that understanding; it just makes people more resistant to take part..." Then he smirked. "Besides, I wouldn't have minded having this ceremony in the first place. I just would have liked to have had a choice in the matter."

Hoshu gazed upon Naruto with wonder while Hinata smiled at his insight. He had tried to learn everything he could about Hyuuga traditions in their efforts to reform the Hyuuga. And while it was a common complaint among the elders that the children of the clan were disrespectful toward Hyuuga traditions, Naruto had a point: the elders never made an effort to show why they were so important.

Bridging the gap between generations and the clan's Main and Side Branches was no easy feat. Traditions could be right or, like the Caged Bird seal, wrong, however, if no one understood those traditions, then realizing which is right or wrong could lead to the very position the Hyuuga clan resided in now.

The surprise upon the priest's face dissolved into a pleased expression. "Well, you are certainly wise beyond your years, Uzumaki-san." Naruto grinned at the response, but that faded as Hoshu started to frown. "However...would you have held the ceremony out of obligation or because you actually wanted it?"

Hinata shook her head before Naruto could answer. "That's not what he meant, Priest Hoshu. What Naruto-kun meant is that we hadn't even started planning for our wedding when this decision was made. I think we might have a traditional ceremony for our private wedding with some alterations." She looked over to Naruto. "Right, Naruto-kun?"

He nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that's what we're planning now." He looked away, gazing down at the floor uncomfortably. "Until my friends had their weddings, I...I hadn't even been to one. And...I've never been to a traditional one. Not at all."

The couple looked over at Hoshu for his reaction and found him smiling once again. "I see. Then in that case, we had best continue our tour, shall we?" After they voiced their agreement, he gestured toward the right side of the oratory. "This will be where Hinata-sama's guests will sit. Benches will be placed inside for them. Only close relatives may attend. In this case, Hyuuga-sama, Hanabi-sama, Neji-san, Tenten-san and the elders will be Hinata-sama's guests."

Naruto snorted. "I figured the elders would be attending."

Hoshu chuckled. "Of course. It's traditional for the entire main house to attend the wedding of another main house member." He swept around a bit more before pointing to the left side of the oratory. "This side is for the groom's gu...oh..." He paused, realizing his mistake and glancing over to Naruto, a nervous expression on his face.

Hinata turned to Naruto as well for his reaction. She knew he did not mind talk about his family, however, he did not like being pitied over it, both things the priest knew nothing about. And his reaction could be unpredictable given the solution.

Naruto's face was carefully blank as he started where his guests would be located at during the ceremony. "Hey? Hoshu?"

The priest blinked, surprised, but nodded. "Yes?"

"Could other people, people who are considered family, attend?" he asked, not taking his eyes away the spot.

At once, Hinata knew what he was talking about. Hoshu seemed to realize that as well since he smiled serenely. "It is unusual, however, there are exceptions. I'm sure if you invite only those very close to you, they may attend. I will speak with Hyuuga-sama about it. I'm sure we can arrange that."

The blank expression on Naruto's face suddenly erupted into a giant grin. "Great! I was planning to invite Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi-sensei, Old Lady Tsunade, Shizune-neesan, Yamato-taicho and Iruka-sensei. Would that be okay?"

Hoshu nodded. "Yes, that should be just fine."

They continued with the tour, the priest explaining pretty much everything Tokiwa had covered, through Naruto and Hinata did not mind as they were rather enjoying it. When it was finished, they stood in front of the oratory. Naruto looked kind of nervous, puzzling Hinata since she was not sure what he could be nervous about.

"Hey? Hoshu?" he asked.

The priest chuckled as if he were amused by the way Naruto had addressed him throughout the session. "Yes?"

Naruto glanced down at the stone ground. "I know this is sudden and I haven't asked Hinata about it yet, but if she agrees, I think it would be great if you could preside over the Konoha ceremony and our private wedding later on, too. I can talk to Old Lady Tsunade and I'm sure she'll be okay with it." He turned to Hinata with a huge smile. "What do you think?"

"That's a wonderful idea!" exclaimed Hinata, realizing this was why he was so nervous. He did not know how the request would be taken. "It would be a great honor to us if you could, Priest Hoshu."

The priest looked somewhat shocked, but then he laughed, causing the couple to glance at each other in surprise. "That would be a great honor, indeed," he said, finally, "however, I must decline. I'm really not well versed in modern wedding ceremonies."

Naruto and Hinata deflated, disappointed. "Ah," said Naruto. "That's okay. Thanks, through."

"I do know a priest who is knowledgeable in both the traditional ceremony and modern weddings," continued Hoshu.

Their disappointed mood disappeared. "Really?" they both said.

"Yes. His name is Chokichi. He's a very good friend of mine and he knows how both ceremonies work and can even help you blend the two if that is what you're planning. I can get you in contact with him if you wish."

Naruto's face exploded into a giant grin while Hinata felt excited. "Really?" she stated, the excitement obvious in her voice, "That would be wonderful and very helpful." She quickly bowed to give her thanks for his offer. "Thank you very much, Priest Hoshu."

"Yeah!" said Naruto, putting his hands behind his head. "That would be great. Thanks a lot."

"You're very welcome." Hoshu bowed to the couple and then turned to make his way back into the oratory. "It was very nice meeting you, Uzumaki-san, and it's a pleasure as always, Hinata-sama."

They walked away from the shrine, holding hands as the sun set, reminding them they had spent a long time talking with the priest. Naruto smirked. "That wasn't as bad as I originally thought it would be."

Hinata nodded her agreement. "I wasn't sure about Priest Hoshu since I didn't know him too well, but you're right. This went far better than I imagined."

"Yep!" Naruto put his hands behind his head again, grinning and looking quite pleased. "And we might have found a priest to cover both of the other ceremonies, too." He paused as if he suddenly remembered something unpleasant. "Uh you think Old Lady Tsunade will get mad over us choosing someone before Shizune found someone?" he asked nervously, glancing at her, scratching his cheek.

She giggled and shook her head. "I doubt Godaime-sama will be upset. And Shizune-san will certainly be happy to have one less thing to worry about." She took Naruto's hand and drew him closer to her. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah..." As they made their way through the Hyuuga complex, they remained silent, not saying a word. They were relishing in the fact they had achieved a minor goal while taking the tour of the temple, having one less thing to worry about. But then, Naruto sighed. "I'm really worried about that dinner..."

Hinata frowned. It seemed like with one achievement came with another worry, something else to remind them of the complex nature of the two ceremonies in play. She really needed to talk to her father about that...

_oOo_oOo_

"All right, Naruto, this is what you need to do," said Iruka. To his left, Naruto nodded, frowning and staring nervously at the saké cup in front of him. Hinata watched him, her hand on his shoulder as if to reassure him everything was all right. Across from them, Sasuke and Sakura sat, the former's face blank, but his eyes fixated on Naruto while the latter looked worried, their teammate's uncharacteristic silent behavior obviously on their minds.

Across from Iruka, Kurenai watched him demonstrate how the ceremony would go. "The saké is poured into the cup by the priestesses like this." Sasuke, looking slightly irate at his role, emptied some water into two saké cups. They had opted to use water instead of actual saké. No one knew how long the practice would take and a drunken Naruto was the last thing anyone, Naruto included, wanted.

"You pick up the cup with both hands." Iruka took the brown wooden cup into his hands, his fingers encircling it and his thumbs barely touching the edges. "Sip it gradually." He slowly sipped the water before putting the cup back down on the tray. "That's all there is to it, Naruto," he said, smiling as if he had full confidence his favorite former student could do it.

Naruto nodded slowly, a firm determination in his eyes. _It is a relatively easy ritual,_ thought Kurenai. The San San Ku Do ceremony, as it was called, simply consisted of the bride and groom drinking saké nine times in sets of three. Most people took it up quickly even if they had never been exposed to the ritual.

Unfortunately, the ritual failed to take in consideration a hyperactive ninja.

"Gradually, Naruto, not quickly," suggested Iruka after Naruto finished up in seconds.

The blond cringed, putting down the cup and sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei..."

Kurenai hid her frown, not wanting to make him any more nervous than usual as he continued to try and slow his drinking pattern. _Perhaps it is because Naruto rushes through things all the time?_ she mused. _He doesn't really stop to think about his actions. _And in this ceremony where things should be gradual and steady, it was a problem. Naruto's rashness was a flaw and he knew it; he tried to do better even through everyone accepted that was how he was. Before now, it simply did not cause any long-standing harm.

_If this__ was__ for anyone else, I doubt they would care if Naruto rushed through this, but this is the Hyuuga elders asking. _As Hinata's genin teacher, Kurenai had seen the toll she, Neji and Naruto had taken in their attempts to reform the clan. The three showed determination; she doubted if anything would deter them, but political battles were fought differently than shinobi battles. And the Hyuuga elders proved to be extremely tough opponents. As Naruto tried over and over again to slow down, Kurenai could not help but wonder if the slightest error would truly do the couple in.

"That's it, Naruto!" cheered Iruka as the grinning blond put down the saké cup after an hour of careful instruction, practice, and trial and error. "I think you've finally got it down."

"About time," muttered Sasuke, his eyebrow twitching as he put down the tea pot.

Sakura nudged him with her arm, her face quite happy at how things turned out for her blond teammate. "Now we just go through the actual ceremony to show how things are going to be, right, Kurenai-sensei?

She nodded, her pleased red eyes lit up. "Right. Now that he knows what to do, we can go through it to show how it'll be done during the wedding. It's not going to take too long to perform."

"Good. A little practice can't hurt us," said Hinata, smiling at how happy Naruto was acting. "We really want to make sure we're prepared when the day comes. Right, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah! We're going to rock when the wedding comes!" said Naruto, his face far more cheerful than Kurenai had seen in awhile. His arms were in the air, his hands into fists as he celebrated his finished practice. "Those elders are going to wish they hadn't asked for this ceremony, we're going to do it so well!" He brought down his fists and hit the trays, overturning the teapots and sending the saké cups in the air, one of them still filled with water. The six followed the saké cups as they went up and then down, the empty one falling face down onto the wooden floor, clattering for a bit and then remaining still.

The cup with water, however, fell face down directly on Hinata's head.

Kurenai blinked. "Hinata?"

"Oh..." Her blue hair student automatically cringed as the cup had hit her. After the water ran down her face, she took the cup off her head, wiping the liquid off with the sleeve of her purple jacket. "I'm fine. It's just a bit cold."

Sakura shook her head. "Naruto..." she sighed, exasperatedly, closing her eyes and lowering her head. "You can't celebrate until after you finish the ceremony. Hold off on it until the next day!"

Her expression downcast, Hinata shook her head. "No, it's okay, Sakura-san. It was just water. There's no harm done."

Sasuke 'hn'ed in response, his eyes closed and face tense. "Maybe not," he said, after a moment, "but it's still a good reminder. Naruto takes his celebrations very seriously."

Iruka sighed, knowing they had a point, bluntly put as it was. "They're right, Naruto," he agreed, sounding somewhat reluctant. He turned to his former student, trying to put on a grin and absentmindedly scratching the bridge of his nose. "I doubt that'll happen during the ceremony, but you'll need to save any celebrations for later...Naruto...?"

Hinata glanced to her side. Sasuke opened his eyes while Sakura did the same and raised her head, her green eyes round with curiously. Kurenai focused back on where Naruto had been sitting only to find...he was not there at all.

"Huh? Where did he go?" asked Sakura.

Next to her, Sasuke groaned. "He's off and ran away...that idiot..."

Looking extremely distraught, Hinata had her hands to her face, staring at the empty spot where her fiancé had sat. "Oh, no...Naruto-kun..."

This time, Kurenai did not bother repressing her sigh. She batted a stray lock of curly black hair out of her way and tried to straighten up the materials they had been using. "I guess it can't be helped. Let's leave him alone for awhile," she suggested, reaching over for the stray saké cup. "If he wants to be left to himself, than we shouldn't interfere."

Kurenai settled the cup onto the tray and...realized she was alone...everyone had gone to look for Naruto. "...Or not..."

Deciding that the four of them knew what to do better than her, she got up, the tea pots in hand to refill. No doubt they would come back and try to practice some more if Naruto felt up to it and in order to do that, they would need to be ready. "I just hope they'll able to help."

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto had ran outside of the main Uchiha house and into a garden, coming to a stop by a tree next to the wall. He slid down the tree, his mind filled with depressing thoughts. _I blew it! I'm no good at this traditional stuff. There's no way I can do it during the actual ceremony!_

He pounded the ground with his fist. He felt like he was back at the academy and failing test after test. Always failing. "I know it was just practice," he muttered, able to remember the exact flight of the saké cup that fell onto Hinata's head, "but if that had happened at the real wedding, I would have blown it right there."

He groaned and let his head rest on his propped up legs. _What am I going to do? What did I do wrong? I'll end up making a fool out of myself in front of the elders. But I can't help it if I can't figure out what's wrong! What do I do?_

Abruptly, he faintly felt a few people coming up to him. Knowing exactly who it was, he automatically curled up more as if making himself smaller and not able to be seen, despite knowing it was a futile effort. The whole reason he ran out here was so he would not have to face Sasuke when he felt very depressed over his actions. He knew his rival would give him a hard time while Sakura would scold him, telling him to take things more seriously. Iruka, if not angry, would talk him through it, sort of a gentle version of his teammates.

He could not help but smile as he imagined what Hinata would do. She would reassure him she was okay, not hurt and that it was just an accident so not to worry about it anymore, then she would explain to him that it might be best to wait until after everything was over to celebrate and to stay calm, her soft voice soothing his fears and doing away with the stress.

Then his mind shifted from Hinata's face to one where a saké cup was on her head and the elders in the background shouting furiously for the wedding to end at that moment.

He frowned and groaned. "So stupid! I need to stop thinking that!"

"I couldn't agree more."

Naruto cried out in surprise, jumping up to his feet, staring at Sasuke, who glared at him with an irritated face. "Where did you come from, Sasuke?" He glanced around, seeing Sakura, Iruka and Hinata coming up right behind his teammate. "You almost scared me!" _He came up __quicker__ than I thought he would._

Sasuke looked like he was repressing the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm going to ignore that. Never know if you actually did sense us coming or not." The others finally caught up, Hinata moving right to his side, as Naruto scowled at the comment. "Mind explaining what you're being so stupid about?"

For a moment, Naruto entertained the notion to not explain himself at all. He certainly did not feel like doing so and Sasuke's attitude was not helping. However, before he could think of a negative retort to deliver to his rival, Hinata squeezed his arm as if she knew he was going to respond negativity and Sakura sighed, massaging her forehead as if she had a headache. "Naruto..." she said after a brief moment, her voice annoyed, "…if you're worried about sending saké cups on the heads of your guests, don't worry about it. That's not going to happen. Just hold off on celebrating your victories until after the wedding and reception and you'll be fine."

Naruto bit his lip, his ire at Sasuke forgotten for a moment. Sakura was right; what were the chances that he would pound on the trays and knock the saké cups over onto someone else? He had seen the temple, after all. There was a long distance between him and the elders and other guests. Really the only ones could be hit were Hinata and the priestesses, but even that was not guaranteed, unless he actually tried and aimed.

_I guess that was kind of silly to think would happen_, he thought, slightly embarrassed that his imagination had gotten away from him like that.

The celebration point was something Naruto had not thought of just yet. He was so used to celebrating and focusing on things at the same time, be it capturing his opponent or pulling a very difficult prank. He could not help but get excited over things. Celebrating during the wedding was not something that had come to mind or Naruto hadn't considered being inappropriate. But could he tame those feelings and keep them at bay until it was safe?

Iruka put his hands on his shoulders, causing Naruto's focus to be straight onto his former teacher. "Naruto, I know you're struggling to do this right. It's easy to feel excited when you've accomplished something." He nodded, frowning, knowing Iruka was right, but it still felt like a hard blow over a trait he felt like was his very nature.

"I know it's tough to keep yourself from getting too excited, but think about it this way," continued Iruka. "Think of the wedding as a ninja battle: you don't celebrate until the very end, now do you? You don't show your excitement even if you've cast a jutsu or hit your target. You wait until you're sure they are defeated. You've got to wait until the end."

"A battle, huh?" Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek, giving Iruka's idea some thought. It had taken awhile for him to remain calm in a battle, but he had managed it. "I hadn't thought of it like that before..."

Hinata tightened her hold on his arm, smiling at him reassuringly. "That sounds exactly what you should do, Naruto-kun. You always approach things better when you think of it like a fight or a prank."

The reactions of the others at Hinata's words, particularly the last one, were expected; Sasuke closed his eyes, shaking his head. Sakura muttered under her breath that a prankster Naruto was her worst nightmare. Iruka looked torn between amusement and the face he usually made when Naruto was an academy student pulling said pranks. Naruto, however, perked right up; he laughed, putting his hands behind his head, with his usual grin back.

They were right; Sakura, Iruka, Hinata, everything they said had a point. He needed to remember to be calm, something he had not thought of before, and approaching it like a battle or a prank could help him in dealing with the wedding...just as long as he did not break out into a battle formation or started pranking people when he did so.

He chuckled as the image actually ran through his mind. _That would be funny if I did and fun to start pranking people, too._

Sasuke seemed to have an idea of what Naruto was thinking because he scowled and got up from the tree he had been leaning on. "Don't get any ideas, idiot. You start fighting and pranking people during a wedding and the elders will get rid of you faster than you can eat your ramen."

And as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, Naruto felt his mood damper...just a bit. His anger at Sasuke, however, returned full force. "Oh, come on!" he growled, pushing Iruka out of the way to face his rival. "What makes you think I would actually do that?"

Apparently, everyone did. Hinata looked embarrassed, shifting from one foot to another as if she felt bad for thinking like that. Something akin to exasperation and amusement shifted through Iruka's face. Annoyance filtered through Sakura's and Sasuke glared at him, his black eyes filled with disbelief. "Because we know you," he responded. "You're capable of doing something like that."

"Ah, this isn't fair!" yelled Naruto. "You honestly think I would do that at _my_ wedding?"

Sasuke smirked. "Well, you are the most unpredictable ninja, aren't you?"

"He's got you there," muttered Sakura.

Naruto sulked, crossing his arms and muttering under his breath. Hinata giggled, smiling and taking his hand. "But that's what we love about you the most, Naruto-kun."

That caused a smile to appear on his face, his blue eyes gazing lovingly down at his fiancé. Sasuke did not bother to repress rolling his eyes this time, muttering about how that did not include him. Iruka patted Naruto on the shoulder, happy that things had calmed down. "How about we go back and try again, Naruto?" he said. "I'm sure you'll do fine this time. And when it's over, we'll celebrate at Ichiraku Ramen. How's that?"

No one said anything at the offer of ramen except Hinata, who nodded, smiling, in agreement. Sasuke and Sakura were far too used to the offer to make any protest and knowing it was exactly what he needed to begin with. Jumping up and down at the offer, feeling all the doubt had been removed from his mind, Naruto agreed. "Yeah," he said, now feeling anxious to get the practice over with, "that sounds like a great idea!"

The group headed back to the Main house to practice some more, Naruto feeling far more energized than he had been when he started. The prospect of ramen and, more importantly, his friends restoring his faith in himself had been just what he needed.

_Watch out, Elders!_ he thought, excitedly. _We're going to show you exactly what Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata can do!  
_

_oOo_oOo_

The construction area was in full swing despite it only being late December with the new year steadily approaching. The location where the Konoha wedding was going to be held was filled to the brim with workers trying to finish well before the official date. Hinata and Naruto sat in the middle of what would be the area the nobles and other guests would sit to watch, one of the few places that had finished being set up.

"Hey!" screamed Ino, causing the couple to look over to see what could have occurred. It seemed that a decorator had misplaced something, which fired up their friend. "That flower pot does not go there! It would look horrible here! If you put it over there, it'll look right, do you understand?"

Hinata tried not to grimace. Instead, an awkward, embarrassed smile found its way to her face. Naruto blinked for a few moments in the furious woman's direction before moving ever so slightly toward Hinata on the bench they shared as if her presence would keep Ino's temper stay where it was: away from them. "I think she's taking being Shizune-neesan's helper a little too seriously," he whispered as if afraid she would get angry she overheard him.

"I'm sure Shizune-san is grateful for the assistance, through," said Hinata, hoping the decorator did not take the criticism too harshly.

Naruto looked torn between being unsure and feeling relief that Shizune had some help now. However, instead of focusing on it, he looked down at some papers Chokichi, the priest Hoshu had suggested to them to officiate both weddings. The man had happily agreed and given them a list of ways they could hold their more private ceremony, more ways than the couple had actually thought possible. Now, as they waited for Shizune to arrive to talk to them about something, they went through the submissions.

"What about this one?" he asked, lifting one page up and giving it a glance over.

Hinata moved to get a better look. She rather liked it. It was certainly a good mix of traditional and modern customs, but there was one thing missing. After the structured ceremonies the Hyuuga and the Konoha weddings were going to be, Hinata felt like they should put a little bit of themselves into their personal one. "I like this one; however, perhaps we should come up with our own vows?"

Naruto blinked and appeared confused. "Our _own _vows?"

_Oh, that's right,_ she thought, remembering the other weddings. _He's never seen that before. _"Yes, it's where we can put our vows in our own words instead of repeating the customary vows the ceremony calls for. Some people like to make their own to give their wedding a more personal touch."

Now he seemed interested. A grin graced his features and his blue eyes shined as he thought it over. "So it'll make our wedding unique and like no one else's even more than before, right?"

She thought that was an agreement. After all, he did look pleased with the idea, but then the grin fade, the light faded from his eyes and a concerned expression slid over his face. "That sounds great and all. I love the idea, Hinata, but..." He shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. She waited, through, knowing he was trying to tell her what was wrong. "I'm not sure if I can write my own vow," he whispered, staring at the ground and avoiding her eyes.

Hinata nodded understandably. She knew he was more of a spur of the moment type of person. He was emotional, prone to speaking from his heart at the moment, than planning his words ahead of time. It was one of the many things she loved about him, after all. However, she thought he could write his own vow if he tried, but she would not push it. "I understand, Naruto-kun," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "We don't have to write our own. It's not important that we have them."

But he shook his head almost as if to clear his doubts. "No, I want them. After all of this..." He pointed back to the small platform being built for the ceremony. "I definitely want our wedding to be unique and different. Besides," he added, his grin coming back to his face, "I had felt like those standard vows wouldn't really tell everyone how much I love you, Hinata."

She could not help it; her face started glowing red and it was that scene that Shizune came upon with a box in her hands.

"Shizune-neesan!" said Naruto as he noticed her. He started putting away their work while Hinata recovered and got the papers they had been marking on and put them in her notebook where she had put a bunch of other ideas for their wedding. "You're finally here!"

Shizune smiled, looking very tried in Hinata's eyes. "Sorry about getting here so late. There were some last minute arrivals and I wanted to make sure everything was here." She glanced around the construction area. "How are things going here?"

Hinata and Naruto grinned sheepishly, noticing just out of their line of sight, a decorator was still glancing nervously around as if he feared Ino would jump him at any moment. They quickly snuck a look at each other and nodded slightly. "Everything's going as well as to be expected," said Hinata, her voice slightly shaking.

Shizune nodded, seemingly not noticing anything off. She would figure things out sooner or later. And quite frankly, Naruto and Hinata wanted none of Ino's fury should it come down to that.

"So..." started Naruto, his voice somewhat rushed as he changed the subject, "Shizune-neesan, you said you wanted to talk about something? And what arrivals were you talking about?"

The Hokage's assistant sighed and placed the box into the nearby bench. She did not look very happy. "We've been getting these for awhile now. It seems like there are designers from across the world who want to design the wedding outfits for the ceremony. They've been sending examples since the announcement."

Hinata and Naruto's eyes widened. Hinata felt somewhat dizzy at the prospect of a box filled with dress designs. "Wedding outfits?" she questioned. "People want to make my wedding dress?"

Shizune nodded. "That's right. And the bridesmaid dresses, the groom's and his party's tuxedoes."

Still somewhat stunned, Hinata glanced at Naruto to see what he thought. He looked pretty confused. The outfits were the next thing they were going to get with nearly all the arrangements organized or otherwise sorted out. There was a problem with this, however. "I thought we were going to shop around in Konoha?" he asked, confused. "It's Konoha's wedding, after all. It's only fair that people here get to contribute, right?"

"I agree with you," said Shizune, rubbing her temples and her face strained. "Tsunade-sama has been turning them down for awhile now, but then..." Her face, if possible, became even more strained as if the words gave off an unpleasant taste. "The nobles got involved."

At those words, Hinata lowered her head, feeling weary at the prospect. Naruto growled under his breath, his eyes narrowing in anger. "What?" he exclaimed. "Why do they care about what we wear to this thing?"

"Actually, they likely don't care," corrected Shizune as she sat down across from them. "What we suspect happened is that some designers who are connected to some nobles either by designing clothes for them privately or some other connection started complaining to them about Tsunade-sama's rejections. The nobles probably think having their designer chosen might lead them to more recognition in the Land of Fire's court."

_That makes sense,_ thought Hinata, sadly. She had heard how difficult politics were in the countries' capitals. Beside her, Naruto muttered curses under his breath. "Stupid nobles," he growled aloud. He lowered his head and placed it in his hands. "I really hate politics."

Shizune sighed and started opening the box. "I know how you're feeling, Naruto-kun. Unless someone has a better idea, we've got to look at the designs we received."

He continued to grumble, but Hinata started thinking. Choosing a design was not going to be easy and not because she had no idea what she wear. Deciding on one could make the others feel alienated and might upset those connected to nobles, which in turn would make them insulted. _They don't realize that,_ she thought. _They wouldn't care about who takes offence. I don't want to think they're selfish because I've never met any of the designers, but this is a difficult situation..._

There had to be a simple way out of this dilemma, Hinata believed. There had to be. The villagers would not care where they shopped since they knew both Naruto and Hinata all their lives. It was very ideal since no one could say they favored a noble if they shopped within their own village. _Maybe if there was a designer from Konoha we could call upon? Or perhaps... _

"...These designs are from someone who calls herself Lady Orika..."

"Shizune-san!" interrupted Hinata, feeling excited. "What if we impose a condition?"

Both Naruto and Shizune stared at her confused. "A condition?" questioned Shizune. "What type of condition?"

"Well," she started, tightening her grip on her jacket nervously, "We tell them we wish for Konoha to have as much participation into the wedding as possible, so the only way we would consider allowing someone to design the outfits is if they are willing to allow a tailor within Konoha to make the outfits they design."

Shizune's face widened in surprise while Naruto looked deep in thought. "So..." he said, after a moment's hesitation, "if we say they have to do this in order for us to pick one of them, it could narrow down the field of people to choose from?"

He looked back and forth to Hinata and Shizune, waiting for an answer. The Hokage's assistant nodded faintly. "Right...That would help us out a lot by limiting the number of people who are willing to do this or even..." she said with a rather sneaky grin, "scare them away completely. Designers aren't all that willing to let someone else handle their work."

"Well," said Hinata, shifting a little in her seat, "that's actually one of the reasons why I thought of it."

Chuckling, Naruto grabbed her shoulders, holding her in an almost hug. "No one would ever know it, but you're sneaky sometimes, Hinata!"

Shizune looked like she was hiding whatever laughter she had at the now blushing Hinata and a laughing Naruto. "Well," she began, as she put the design examples back into the box, "I guess this was a useless trip. I'm sorry about that, guys."

The couple shrugged, not really minding the request. "It's okay, Shizune-neesan," said Naruto as the two of them stood up. "Working on this is pretty much the only thing we do nowadays anyway."

Hinata nodded, thinking of how tiring the whole thing was getting. "Yes, that and the occasional mission."

"Have the two of you managed to get your rings yet?" asked Shizune, as she glanced over a clipboard she had just pulled out.

"We're about to go place that order," said Hinata. Naruto nodded. They had been talking about their rings for quite some time now and had finally found a design. Now the only left to do was order them.

Shizune looked relieved. "Good." She made a note on her clipboard. "So far everything's going on schedule, but I still have this nagging feeling that something is going to go wrong."

"I hope nothing goes wrong," growled Naruto, darkly. Hinata agreed with him completely. There was every chance in the world that something could go wrong with three weddings. And privately, she and Naruto both feared that something could occur with the first two that would end up ruining their private ceremony. That was the last thing they wanted.

"Well, I'll let you guys go and work on the rings." Shizune turned around, facing the construction site. "I've got to make sure everything's in order here."

Remembering what happened earlier, Naruto and Hinata started to leave, the fear evident in their faces. They said their good-byes quickly and walked as quickly as they could out of the construction area without making it look like they were in a rush.

They feared the results of what could happen and wanted to be nowhere in the area should Ino get angry and Shizune's reaction to it when it happened.

* * *

Hey, look, a new ally! Naruto had a little trouble with the saké part of the ceremony, but he bounced back. And the nobles are showing why this ceremony is filled with trouble! But things seem to be running smoothly…right?

More plans coming up!

Thanks for reading! – NessaMoon


	4. Ceremonial Plans: Outfits, Prayers & Woe

Here is part 2 of the planning portion! And it seems like the Hyuuga elders have been causing trouble! Oh, and Naruto faces one of the few things he hates most in the world! XD And again, and again, and again! XD

I think I like torturing characters too much… *ducks flying fruit*

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre:** Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**Ceremonial Plans: Outfits, Prayers & Woe**

Ichiraku Ramen was in sight. Both dressed in formal kimono, Hinata stayed by Naruto's side the entire time, not wanting to leave knowing how bad he felt. A few of their friends were already at the stand, Shikamaru and Chouji still eating while Shino, Kiba and Akamaru had just gotten up. Naruto took the free seat vacated by Kiba and let his head unceremoniously plopped down onto the table while Hinata sat down next to him.

Everyone turned to stare; Ayame quickly placed her empty ramen bowls into the sink and rushed over. "Naruto-kun! Are you okay?"

Hinata patted Naruto on the shoulder, still trying to reassure him everything was okay. Her fiancé shook his head without looking up. "Not really, Ayame. Can I have some miso ramen? I think that might help..." he said, his voice strained.

Teuchi nodded and got to work at once. "Coming right up, Naruto!"

"Do you want anything, Hinata?" asked Ayame.

She shook her head. "No, thank you, Ayame-san. I'm not hungry, but perhaps a glass of water might be okay."

Ayame went to get the water. Chouji pushed aside his bowl of ramen while Shino and Kiba stood behind Naruto and Hinata. "What happened?" asked Kiba, staring at Naruto while glancing at Hinata for an explanation. "Weren't you guys having dinner with the Hyuuga elders tonight?"

Mention of the elders caused Naruto to whine a tad, causing Shino and Shikamaru to nod thoughtfully as if they understood what had occurred. Ayame came back and placed Hinata's water in front of her. "Did it go that badly?" she asked, sadly.

Hinata shook her head, but Naruto groaned, placing his hands on the back of his head. "I know I messed up!" he said. "I know I did! I felt the elders' eyes on me the whole time. They're bound to have seen something! I know it..."

Shino adjusted his goggles, the reflection shining a little as he turned to Hinata. "Was it really that bad?" he asked, quietly. She knew he was just trying to get a better handle of the situation since he believed Naruto's emotions were clouding his judgment.

"Father said he did fine when we left," she said. "I didn't notice anything off, either, and neither did Neji or Hanabi."

Naruto had placed his hands under his head, groaned again and answered Hinata, "I don't mean this in a bad way, Hinata, but I honestly don't think your dad knows the elders as well as he says he does."

Hinata sighed, but did not object as she had suspected the same thing. Even if she believed Naruto had been doing well at the dinners, the elders were not going out of their way to be accommodating. The only thing they attempted in any way was toning down their outright hostility, which was not saying much. She would have no trouble believing Naruto based on their behavior alone.

Shikamaru gazed thoughtfully at Naruto and then to Hinata. "This has been the eighth dinner, right? And the elders have been this way the entire time?"

After Hinata nodded, Kiba growled under his breath and Chouji looked sympathetically at Naruto. "I can see why he's so stressed over this," he said. "It's hard to enjoy a meal when you're worried about your conduct in front of people."

"Stupid elders!" muttered Kiba. Beside him, Akamaru growled menacingly. "I have half of mind to go up to them and - "

"That's likely not a helpful option, Kiba," interrupted Shino. "I'm sure the elders won't be moved by threats or harmful actions toward them. As unfortunate as the situation is, you would just make things worse if you did something like that."

Kiba threw his arms in the air. "But we can't do nothing!" He gestured to Hinata and then Naruto. "Hinata's our teammate and Naruto's our friend. We can't stand by and let this happen! We've got to do something!"

"Shino's right, Kiba," said Shikamaru, shaking his head. "This isn't a situation that can be handled by actions based on emotion. Dealing with the elders is going to take thoughtful action."

Naruto groaned again and Hinata patted him on the shoulder. Most people knew quite well he was more prone to act on his feelings than his brain. The only reason he was not acting furious like Kiba was because he wanted to make a good impression and it was taking everything he had to keep his emotions in check.

"So..." started Kiba, not looking like he was going to let the matter go anytime soon, "we just do nothing?" He shook his head while Akamaru moaned and hide his nose with his paws. "I can't...I can't sit and do nothing..."

_I wish there was something else that could be done,_ thought Hinata. She bit the bottom of her lip, uncertainty filling her. The ceremony would be fine, she believed, since she and Naruto had worked so hard to make it prefect. However, they figured the elders would not turn over a new leaf as soon as the ceremony ended. How long could they take the hostility?

"Perhaps there is a way we can help," said Shino, suddenly.

Kiba looked over at him eagerly while Chouji blinked and stared. "Are you sure, Shino?" he asked. "There's something we can do?"

"Well, don't just stand there!" demanded Kiba. Akamaru barked, his tail wagging anxiously. "Tell us!"

"This is sort of something Hyuuga-sama tried earlier, as I'm sure Hinata remembers," stated Shino. "Perhaps it was not enough and more needs to be done. What we could do is get our families to _subtly_ suggest that there could be ill consequences if the elders continue to behave in this manner."

Hinata drew in a deep breath, realizing what he was suggesting. Shikamaru nodded in agreement while Chouji looked thoughtful. Naruto said nothing, keeping his head down, but Hinata had felt him stiffen at the words. Kiba stared at his teammate, confused. "Wait...so our families will talk to the elders and convince them to back down?"

"Not quite," said Shikamaru. "More like our elders or parents talk about how much of a good thing this will be for the Hyuuga clan. Hyuuga-sama put the idea in their heads and if our clans discuss Naruto and Hinata being together is a positive influence, the elders might realize there could be a backlash against them if they object too much."

Kiba nodded. "Oh, I see! That makes sense." Then his face became sour and he turned on Shino. "How come you didn't say it in that way? You always go and say things in a weird way."

Hinata tuned out their argument and focused her attention on Shikamaru. "You really don't mind taking such a risk?" she asked, worriedly. The Hyuuga held a great deal of influence, much more than the other clans within Konoha, other than the Uchiha. Possibly only the Akimichi and Aburame could compare since they were noble clans, too. What they were suggesting could easily have deep repercussions politically for them.

"Eh, it's not a problem," dismissed Shikamaru. He pushed away his ramen bowl and Ayame picked it up, taking it to clean. "Politics is troublesome, but I am one of Naruto's groomsmen for the big Konoha wedding. I think it's in the job description to lend a hand to the groom."

Naruto lifted his head slowly, still looking quite dreary. "'Politics is troublesome.' I completely agree there. I never thought it would be this bad."

Teuchi, with a fond smile on his face, brought a bowl of ramen in front of Naruto. "Here you go, Naruto. A special bowl of miso ramen to cheer you up." Next to him, Ayame stood, grinning at their favorite customer.

As he looked at the bowl of miso ramen, filled with extras he had not even ordered, a smile slowly took its place onto Naruto's face. He took a pair of chopsticks and started eating right away. "Thanks, Old Man! Thanks a lot!"

Hinata could not help but feel cheerful as she watched Naruto eat. Kiba and Shino eventually left, still arguing, but not before saying they would pass the message to their families. Chouji kept eating while Shikamaru waited for him to finish. All their friends were helping them and Hinata could not be more grateful to have such friends.

_oOo_oOo_

`Naruto did not mind wearing traditional kimono. He had worn them to festivals, to other weddings and other events that required such dress. However, after everything that had gone on so far in preparing for two weddings with preconceived ideas of what needed to be done and worn, he had come to a painful conclusion.

Traditions hated the color orange.

In the mirror, he wore a black kimono, with the Uzumaki crest, a small white swirl, sewn into the collar and sleeves in the back, white hakama pants and a black haori jacket, again with his crest, three on the back of the collar and sleeves and two on the front with a white cord that connected the two sides of the open haori and white split toe socks on his feet.

_Why can't anything be orange?_ He sighed and turned around to let his friends see the complete outfit. He only hoped they would not comment on the color. This was tough enough as it was, he did not need his friends egging him on about his favorite color.

Iruka nodded, glancing over the kimono ensemble quickly and smiling. "Very nice, Naruto. Very traditional. I can't see the elders complaining about your manner of dress."

Kakashi seemed to agree; through no one would know it since his nose was stuck in his book as usual. "Yes, you've got this part down."

The others, Shikamaru and Neji said nothing except nodding as Iruka and Kakashi spoke. Sai merely observed everything that was going on as if taking in what was being said. He had a box next to him with his kimono for the ceremony. Sasuke stood next to Kakashi, holding a small brown box containing Naruto's wedding ring.

Naruto tugged at his haori, groaning. "I just wish I could wear orange." He turned back to the mirror, the black and white blinding him with its lack of color. "I don't see why I can't."

The reflection showed Sasuke rolling his eyes, Iruka sighing and Kakashi with that eye-smile of his. His sensei closed his book and placed it back into his back pouch. "Naruto, traditional ceremonies like this don't offer much leeway in color choice. It's either dark, subdue colors or you don't show up. The Hyuuga elders are expecting you to wear black and white, remember?"

Tokiwa's voice rang in Naruto's ears and he twitched, wishing he could forget her. "Yeah, I know..." he said, his voice defeated.

Kakashi nodded. "Glad you remember that. Remember, things for the Hyuuga ceremony, and on some level, the Konoha wedding are beyond your control. As much as I wish you could have a choice in the matter, Naruto, for these two weddings, you've got to do things their way."

He grumbled his agreement under his breath, still not happy, but then he remembered something he and Hinata had agreed on, before and after his outfit had been tailored, something that caused a grin to slowly overtake his face. _We agreed to wear kimono for our wedding, but in our own style! And Kakashi said things are beyond our control for the first two ceremonies...but our wedding is ours...I can dress up however I want!_ "Hey!" Behind him, his teachers and friends froze, knowing the grin on Naruto's face meant nothing good. "Kazuki, could you make me another outfit like this?"

The tailor came up to him, nodding. "Of course, I can, Naruto-san."

"Great!" For the first time that day, Naruto felt excited for the weddings again. His ceremony would have orange...lots and lots of orange! "But I want to make some alternations...color-wise, anyway."

Kazuki nodded understandingly while Iruka and Kakashi chuckled, but looked somewhat awkward at the thought. Sasuke, Neji and Shikamaru groaned. "Should have known..." muttered Shikamaru, "you can't separate Naruto from orange for very long."

"Nope!" responded Naruto as a grin lit up his face. "Orange's in my blood!"

_oOo_oOo_

"Here you go, Hinata-sama! Are you sure you don't want me to have someone deliver it to your house?" Her tailor, Misaki, smiled as she gave her the last box containing her wedding kimono for her personal ceremony.

"Thank you, Misaki-san. However, I think my friends and I can manage." She turned to her bridesmaids for the Konoha wedding, all of whom held something connected to one or all of the ceremonies to be held: Sakura took the box with the uchikake, an ornate wedding kimono-coat with a long trail, from Hinata. Tenten held the box containing the kimono itself while Hanabi had taken charge of the wedding ring and the obi, a sash worn with the kimono. Ino was holding a bag of hair ornaments and zori sandals Hinata would wear with the entire ensemble.

Tenten looked amazed as they left the tailor shop. "I can't believe so much goes into a single outfit. And the Hyuuga kimono is going to look the same?"

Hanabi nodded. "Yes, pretty much. Tokiwa-sama had it brought out recently to make sure it's ready in time for the ceremony. The only difference is the Hyuuga one is completely white."

"Why aren't you wearing that one for your personal ceremony anyway, Hinata?" asked Ino. "It would be more convenient."

Hinata sighed and shook her head. "I don't think the elders would be pleased if I asked to use it since they are not too supportive of this wedding in the first place. I thought it would be better if I bought my own." Then she smiled, not at all upset at the circumstances. "Besides, I actually prefer the one we just got. I feel it suits me a lot better."

Sakura nodded, adjusting the large box in her hands. "Yeah, this one suits you very well." She sighed as a fond expression slid over her face. "I remember my wedding kimono; white with embroidered pink patterns all over the Uchikake..."

"I don't think that counts, forehead girl," responded Ino, rolling her eyes. "Your ceremony was a traditional-themed modern wedding. Doesn't count!"

The other girls braced for the reaction that was certain to follow. Sakura glared at Ino, her face turning red in anger, but before she could start screaming at her best friend, a clash of thunder startled the group.

Hanabi looked up at the stormy skies, her face confused. "A storm? I don't recall the forecast giving rain today?"

Tenten shrugged. "Weather isn't going to follow the forecast all the time, but regardless, we had better get to the Hyuuga compound before it pours."

"Right," chimed everyone else and they quickly headed toward the Hyuuga estate before the rain could start, drenching both them and the precious kimono they had just picked up.

_oOo_oOo_

The sky finally decided to let the January storm loose upon Konoha. Rain fell down in sheets, soaking anyone who had been unlucky enough to be caught in the downpour. Naruto did not mind as he had already made it to the safety of his apartment. In fact, the rain was barely on his mind as he was content with staring at the little brown box that fit in the palm of his hand.

The wedding rings were finally finished and Naruto and Hinata had just picked them up before separating to go to their respective tailors. Naruto could not help but feel excited by the thought of the rings finished. It meant they were getting closer to their wedding date. Sure, the rings would be used in the larger, Konoha ceremony, but these rings were theirs, not anyone else's. It was the first time in a while since he felt this relaxed about the date.

_We've got the rings. Now, only my outfit remains and those wedding vows, but I'll work on those after the other ceremonies are out of the wa - _

Knock! Knock!

Naruto looked up, startled at the knock on his door, especially during this storm. "Wonder who that could be?" he muttered to himself, hurrying to get up to let the person in. He opened the door and felt surprised. "Shizune-neesan? What are you doing here? It's pouring rain!"

The Hokage's assistant smiled, but somehow she did not look happy. "I thought I should inform you and Hinata about this quickly. We have a problem," she said simply.

At once, the rings lay forgotten. Instead, Naruto felt like only the stormy skies could match the problem Shizune was about to reveal.

_oOo_oOo_

_This is...so uncomfortable!_ Naruto resisted the urge to tug at the collar of his shirt and tried not to wince as he stared at himself in the mirror, his reflection wearing black pants and a white shirt that felt a bit too tight around his neck for his liking. In addition to that, he wore a gray vest and black shoes that were nothing like the ninja sandals he was used to wearing. In place of the more modern jacket, he wore a short black haori. All in all, he was very uneasy in this outfit.

Because the news Shizune had delivered was that only one designer had been up to letting a Konoha tailor do the actual making of the dress while they provided the design and direction. Lady Orika, as she was known, took the offer with such gusto that Sasuke commented wryly that she and Naruto would likely get along...which he regretted saying later. Feeling trapped, Naruto and Hinata accepted the offer.

Now he was stuck in an outfit that felt very awkward to him. He was sure he had not felt this way when he wore similar clothes at Ino and Sai's wedding. He also, looking into the mirror with nothing but black and white staring back at him, disliked the lack of orange.

"That looks nice, doesn't it, Naruto?"

He turned around to face Iruka, attempting to put on a smile despite his discomfort. His former teacher did not look like he was happy with the outfit at all. His face was scrunched up, smiling awkwardly. Next to him sat Kakashi, who simply nodded and appeared to know exactly what Naruto was thinking, but decided to say nothing else.

On the other side of the room, his groom party appeared equally uncomfortable as he was. Wearing exact copies of his outfit, Sasuke was barely holding in his displeasure, Shikamaru twitched and had a bored look on his face, Neji kept a stoic appearance and Sai stared at his outfit in the mirror as if fascinated by it.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, glancing down at his outfit. "You really think it looks okay? I feel like I'm choking!"

"That's usually the case, sir. The shirt collar is often tight for people, but it does not inhibit their comfort by too much."

He turned to Takumi, the fashion designer's young assistant who had accompanied them into the dressing room. Naruto knew nothing about fashion, but had had some reservations when he first laid eyes on Takumi. He wore his long black hair loose and, while his clothing not too flashy, his loosely fitted red shirt and pants with black threads sown in the sleeves left him with various outrageous outfits he never thought would be considered for a wedding.

Thankfully, it was not as bad as he imagined. Just the discomfort and lack of orange in his wardrobe got on Naruto's nerves. "Really?" he asked, this time actually tugging at the collar. "I keep feeling like I couldn't eat with this on, it's that tight."

"Agreed," muttered Sasuke, darkly.

Shikamaru sighed, his fingers twitching. "It is a bit more troublesome than I thought it would be."

"Perhaps adjusting the collar," suggested Neji, "would give us the benefit of not choking without losing the concept of the outfit?"

Sai tugged at his collar. "The collar doesn't really bother me. I'm more curious if the shirt could be shortened." He gestured to his waist as the others stared at him, realizing he was talking about his preferred matter of dressing. Takumi just appeared baffled at Sai's mere suggestion, his green eyes wide in confusion.

Kakashi got up from his seat and approached the assistant. "Is it possible the collar could be lengthened?" he asked. "As Neji said, surely, adjusting that wouldn't harm the outfit's design, would it?"

"Well, I suppose," said Takumi, nervously, as he mulled over the suggestion. "I don't think Lady Orika would be upset over that alteration as long as the concept remained." He stepped over to Naruto and tugged at the haori. "The design is meant to incorporate both modern and traditional dress, the shirt and pants depicting the modern while the haori represents the traditional. The only requirements given to us were that the clothing be black, white and gray and that they resembled modern wedding clothing."

Naruto suppressed the irritation he felt at the denial of orange as Takumi adjusted his collar. Instantly, he felt some relief; it still felt tight. His jumpsuit felt more comfortable than formal clothing, but at the same time, it no longer felt so tight that he felt like choking. He could live with this. "Is that better, sir?"

He nodded, tugging at the collar and breathing a bit easier. "Yep, that feels much better."

"I'll have to take the shirt back to get it properly adjusted," said Takumi. "Then come back to make sure it fits again." He glanced over at his outfit once more before looking satisfied and moving on to Sasuke and the others.

Naruto sighed as he glanced at the mirror again, seeing Takumi fuss over Sasuke. _I wonder how Hinata's doing..._

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata gazed into the mirror at the dress she currently wore. It resembled a kimono in some ways, which she guessed was the look her designer had in mind. A creamy white with embroidered pale gold flowers, the dress hugged her waist with long flowing sleeves that stopped a foot above the ground. The bottom of the dress trailed in the back just a little, padded there so it would not get dirty from the floor. She also wore a pale white fluffy sash that resembled an obi, which trailed down the back.

She felt uncomfortable and nervous. This was a very fancy dress and, while the Hyuuga clan was wealthy, compared to most within Konoha, they did not enjoy the more modern fancy outfits that were common now so she really was not used to this kind of gown. Briefly, she wondered what her father would think. He was right outside her dressing room.

Also, it did not help that her rather eccentric fashion designer had no concept whatsoever of...

"Lady Hinata! Are you done?" called out a cheery voice outside her dressing room.

...Personal space.

Hinata cringed at the voice. "Oh! Umm yes, I am," she responded. Taking a deep breath to brace herself to face the designer and calm her nerves, she smoothed out her dress once more and exited her dressing room.

"Lady Hinata, you look simply marvelous!"

She glanced over at the designer's direction. Orika, or Lady Orika as she preferred to be called, stood right next to the door with a huge smile on her face as she took in Hinata's appearance. Her long dark purple curly hair pulled back into a ponytail, she sported a red shirt made of silk along with a red skirt that stopped above her knees. Hinata could not help but find that she wore red high heels was extremely ridiculous because she already appeared to be taller than most of the boys she knew.

Hoping not to offend, she smiled in response. "You really think so?"

"Of course! I'm the designer. I know these things!" Orika encircled Hinata, waving her arms at the dress, face reddening at how excited she was. "This dress was simply made for you, dear!" She took Hinata's arm, startling her, and pulled her out into the floor and twirled her around. "You are a designer's dream, Lady Hinata!"

Hinata felt her face growing hot at the words as she tried to keep her balance. This type of praise was not something she was used to and it felt shallow. She noticed Shizune at the side, grinning awkwardly, and wondered if the other had known how...peculiar Orika really was in person.

The designer, on the other hand, paid little attention to how uncomfortable her charge and the person who hired her felt currently. Instead, she straightened out Hinata's arms and started pointing at various parts of the dress, rambling on about on the dress and how it fitted Hinata. "...the sleeves, of course, resemble that of a kimono. After all, it's modern wear meets traditional flair..."

"Wow, Hinata-neesan!"

She looked over to the other dressing rooms, as did everyone else, to see Hanabi, Sakura, Ino and Tenten exit in their bridesmaid dresses. They resembled Hinata's with only a few differences: more ivory white in color and the long hanging sleeves shorter than hers, the sash around their waists different colors, Hanabi's pale brown, Sakura's pale pink, Ino's pale purple and Tenten's pale red.

Ino broke out into a huge smile. "Wow is right! That dress is gorgeous!"

Tenten nodded, glancing over at the mirror to look at her dress. Orika appeared to get more excited upon seeing the rest of Hinata's wedding party. "Of course, it is! And with such beautiful bridesmaids complementing Lady Hinata, I'm positive this wedding will just be simply breathtaking!"

Sakura and Ino beamed while Hanabi blinked and glanced back at the mirror, suddenly looking more uncomfortable. After all, she had not experienced such modern clothing, either. Tenten shook her head, but tried to smile. Shizune, however, grew more frazzled as if the high expectations Orika had just set were not close to being met.

Again, Orika continued to ignore the awkward emotions in the room. She steered Hinata to face her father and then bounced over to Hiashi's seat, looking more excited with each step as if she was preparing for this opinion. "Well, Hyuuga-sama, what do you think of your daughter?"

Hinata noted her use of honorifics for her father. Throughout the session, she had called everyone 'lady' and insisted she be called the same. According to Ino, who whispered it when Orika was describing her wedding dress, calling everyone 'lady' was a famous quirk of hers and used it every chance she got, just like her motto, 'modern wear meeting traditional flair.' By using the proper titles with Hiashi, she must be very eager for his opinion, then.

"Uh..." The word brought Hinata back down to the present, shocking her and her sister. She stared at her father, who seemed mesmerized at his elder daughter, blinking slowly and at a loss of words. "Hinata...you...look lovely..."

Cheeks reddening at the compliment, she lowered her head, smiling so hard it hurt her face. Hiashi had never said something like that to her before and she had no doubt that he meant it. Slowly, she raised her head, meeting her father's stunned eyes, trying to feel calm and give him a thankful smile.

Orika, however, seemed to have lost her bounce. She looked stiff and her grin extremely thin and forced. "Yes...lovely..." she said, her voice strained, as if the term was insulting, "Just...lovely..." Reaching down, she picked a veil and made her way back to Hinata. "Now I've been told that you plan on putting your hair up in the traditional style?" she asked, sounding a bit more cheerful than before.

Hinata nodded. "Yes, I plan on using that style for all three ceremonies."

The answer caused Orika to perk up, her grin was back and she bounced around the room far more than before. "Very good choice, Lady Hinata! Very good choice! You truly understand the idea of modern wear meeting traditional flair!" She brought up the veil and placed it on Hinata's head. "This veil is designed go over your hair with this dark ring attaching it so it will not float away and with you using that style, it will resemble the traditional style even more. Once it is, the veil will look like it is flowing around your hair." She smiled as Hinata looked around for a mirror. "Well...what do you think?"

"It looks very..." she paused, remembering the designer did not like the word lovely. She did like how the veil was simply placed over her, the shorter end in front, with the ring inside so it could not be seen. She considered it lovely and elegant, but clearly she could not say that. "It looks very...beautiful."

Orika was pleased. "Of course, it is!" she cheered. "Because the bride is very beautiful as well! Now..." She turned to the others. "We must focus on the equally beautiful bridesmaids."

The tone in her voice caused Hinata's bridesmaids to step back with some alarm, at least Hanabi and Tenten did. Sakura and Ino stood perfectly still to let the designer do her work.

Hinata removed the veil from her head and walked over to take the seat by her father. He looked at her, still looking dazed, and nodded awkwardly before focusing on Hanabi and the others.

She looked outside the window, trying to keep her focus away from the bustle inside the room. _It's almost over with. Soon, these weddings will be done and then Naruto-kun and I can really focus on ours.__  
_

_oOo_oOo_

Another kunai hit its mark, knocking the previous thrown weapon off from where it had landed, rebounding straight to the intended target...just as Sasuke had planned.

"...O'Celestrial Matchmaker, honor our marriage today, let harmony grow within our new family..."

Sasuke tuned it out, attempting to focus on his training and his training only. After all, this was his time to practice...to spar with his teammate. Normally, they would be well enmeshed into a minor fight, honing their skills. Today, however, he had to train by himself. His teammate was otherwise occupied.

"...We seek happiness in our love and in our union..."

He twitched, trying to repress his groaning. He threw another kunai, hitting the tree with amazing accuracy, yet embedding it far deeper than actually necessary. No way his next kunai would break it free.

"...We ask for a good relationship to lead us to a happy life..."

The next kunai rebounded off the previous one, hitting the weapon that had landed on his previous target before driving itself in the tree he had originally hit in the first place, only right above the target. This was such an easy exercise; he could do it in his sleep.

"...O'Celestrial Matchmaker, honor our marriage today, let harmony grow within our new family..."

Now Sasuke was furious. _Again? That's the fifth time!_ He turned, walked straight up to where Naruto sat and promptly slapped him across the side of the head. "Idiot! How many times are you going to go over that?"

"Ow!" Naruto grabbed his head, cursing, and glared up at Sasuke, dropping a piece of paper. "What was that for? I'm trying to practice here!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the statement, finding it odd that he would say that since this was their training time. "You've practiced enough, haven't you? You've gone over it four times, already." He pointed over to the multiple kunai he had fixed into the tree for the past five minutes. "This is our training hour, remember? We're supposed to be sparring."

"I know, I know!" Naruto did not look up at him; instead he continued to stare at the pieces of paper that contained the prayer for the traditional ceremony. "It's just that I've been on a mission for the past four days and I haven't been able to get any practice in." He wringed his hands, his face tired and strained. "The traditional wedding is in a week and I've got loads of other stuff to do between now and then. I've got to practice whenever I can."

"Haven't the elders backed down?" asked Sasuke with a raised eyebrow. He remembered Shino, Shikamaru and the others had talked to their parents and clans. Last he had heard, the Hyuuga council members had heard the gossip over how well matched Naruto and Hinata were and been suitably intimidated.

"Sort of," came the reply. "That Tokiwa lady hasn't let up and I still think she's up to something with the way she looks at me all the time. The other elders pretty much only glare, but without any of venom they used to send."

Sasuke was baffled by the antics of Tokiwa. Her actions did not really make any sense, but regardless of that, the fact that the others had backed off somewhat should have eased the pressure so Naruto and Hinata could relax. "So why are you still practicing like a mad man?"

At first, there was nothing but silence, nothing but the wind blowing leaves into the air, twirling around until they were out of sight. Then Naruto spoke, "Because I promised..." He sighed. "I promised I would do this perfectly, to show the elders that just because I believe their clan needs to be changed doesn't mean I'm trying to destroy it." He glanced up at Sasuke, a fierce determination in his eyes that he only used during equally fierce competition. "That means I have to do things right even if..." Naruto paused, gazing back down at the prayers, as if uncertain once again, "even if it means I have to work hard and recite these stupid prayers over and over to do it right."

Sasuke wanted to bang his head on the nearest tree. _Naruto and his promises!_ However he said nothing in response. He knew all too well how far his best friend would go to achieve his goals. And he could not stand in front of him if he was that determined.

Naruto picked up the prayer and started muttering the lines again. Sighing, Sasuke turn over his last kunai in his hand. He knew the blond idiot was having a tough time. If he was not on a mission, he was running ragged over the village dealing with one of the three weddings being planned. But that was not good for him, either...

"...Naruto...you don't have to tell me that," he said, tiredly, hoping his best friend would listen to reason. "But if you don't slow down, knowing you, you'll completely mess things up. You'll definitely trip over those prayers if you don't loosen up." He threw the kunai up and caught it in his hand before turning back to Naruto. "Did that get though your thick sku – " He stopped and then sighed again.

Naruto had fallen asleep, his head resting on the bark of the tree and the page with the prayers held loose in his hands. _I told him to rest...and now he fell asleep. Guess it can't be helped._

Sasuke took the piece of paper from Naruto's hands, folding it up and placing it in one of his pockets so it would not fly away and be lost. Then he pushed him to the side where Naruto fell on the grass, his feet unfolding underneath him, now lying down in a more comfortable position. He muttered a bit in his sleep, stretching one of his arms as he tried to find a more comfortable position.

_I'll have to find another way to practice today... _Sasuke took one last look at his last kunai and then threw it almost haphazardly at his target. It landed right on the tree, like he had planned to hit it in that spot the entire time.

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata gazed out the window of her room. It was night, the full moon hung low in the cloudy sky. Tomorrow, the Hyuuga ceremony would be held and the start of a very hectic week would begin for not only her and Naruto, but also for the village itself.

She sighed. The entire clan had been jumpy all day. The elders had moved around more on the grounds all throughout the day, startling Branch members who were not used to their presence so frequently. They appeared grumpy and almost snappish at those who spoke to them, which lead her to believe they were upset over the fact that the wedding was going to be held tomorrow. This, in turn, caused herself, her father, sister, Neji and even Tenten to be tense all day.

_But everything will be okay,_ she thought, trying to reassure herself. _Naruto-kun and I will be okay. Everything's going to be fine tomorrow and Priest Hoshu will help us if we need it. _Subtly, of course, so that the elders would not notice. W_e hope._

She bit her lip; her nerves remained, despite her attempt to reassure herself. She could not help but be nervous. She hated that everything had to go so perfectly to appease the council members of the clan. That would be another thing she hoped would be solved when their reforms were made a reality: a more relaxed atmosphere for everyone, no pressure to do things a certain way, especially if they honestly did not want it.

_Doing all of this is a small price to pay for the peace in the future, I suppose._

_oOo_oOo_

On top of his apartment's roof, Naruto stared up at the sky, the moon shining brightly over Konoha and a few bright stars that managed to escape the multiple clouds that covered the sky. Tomorrow was it, tomorrow would be the day of the Hyuuga wedding. He had done everything he could have to prepare for this moment. Practiced the saké ceremony, the prayers, going over every bit of the ceremony in detail, he had prepared for it all.

He felt sick to his stomach, he was so nervous.

"I've faced so many people in my life," he said to himself. "So many people and the Kyuubi itself and a wedding has me scared to death."

He ignored the growling in the back of his mind that was the fox expressing his anger over the memory of their fight. A fight between the two of them was not what he needed at the moment. Instead, he laid his head on his knees. He had spent almost the entire day with Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura. They sparred at their training grounds or ate at Ichiraku ramen while he got in a few readings of the prayers. His team reassured him constantly that he was going to do fine. _I wish I could believe them. I just wish I could..._

Sometimes, no matter how confident he sounded in front of people, uncertainty would always find its way into his thoughts.

"Nothing's going to go wrong," he said to himself. "Nothing's going to go wrong. We've done everything we've could. Now we just have to face it and see what happens."

He let himself fall back onto to roof, gazing back up at the stars. He remembered asking Sasuke if he was ready at his wedding and he remembered the response well. It was typical Sasuke...

"_Of course, I'm ready, you idiot! I wouldn't be marrying Sakura if I wasn't ready for it."_

And yet, Naruto had noticed, as he stood in his formal dark blue kimono, next to Sasuke, waiting for Sakura to walk down the aisle, Sasuke shook slightly and had an anxious look on his face.

Naruto got up knowing it was getting late and he could not afford to sleep in tomorrow. As he headed to his balcony so he could enter his room, he still felt extremely tense about the upcoming week. _But I guess everyone gets nervous for their wedding, even Sasuke did, despite not admitting it._

"And I've got three weddings coming so I'm three times as nervous!" He grinned, jumping onto his balcony, hoping that by time morning came, he would be okay.

* * *

Well, that's the end of planning! The first wedding takes place next chapter: the Hyuuga Wedding! Naruto and Hinata have everything they need, clothes, rings, Naruto has the prayers down, everything's ready.

But will they succeed? This is nothing like a ninja battle!

The prayer Naruto recited during his supposed training spar at the end there is something I made up. Tennyo said I could do that just make up the prayers if I wanted so I did. I think they sound rather good. As for Sakura and Ino with Lady Orika, I always imagined those two were the more fashion conscious of the group and would be content with whatever Orika would do. Nothing against them, I love them too much to hold it against them!

Thanks for reading! – NessaMoon


	5. First Ceremony: Hyuuga Wedding

The wedding bells are ringing! Time for the first ceremony! Everyone's nervous, Naruto most of all, but they're willing to run full steam ahead! Can Naruto and Hinata accomplish what they set out to do? And what is going on with that elder Tokiwa? *pokes her in hopes to reveal secrets*

This is a part of what you've been waiting to read! Enjoy!

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre:** Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**First Ceremony: Hyuuga Wedding**

_It was a disaster! The entire wedding had been a disaster! He had messed up the prayers, spilled the saké over the priestesses, everything that could have possible had went wrong, did. The elders forbade him from even coming near Hinata, much less marrying her and locked her away in a golden cage. And no matter what jutsu he tried, the cage refused to break._

_The Daimyo grew furious over the fact that the wedding would not take place and exiled him from the village and the Land of Fire. Once the Hyuuga clan heard of his exile, they started chasing him everywhere. He could not find a place to hide as he could always sense them on his trail and hear them calling his name..._

Naruto...

_He could not believe all this had happened. How could he rescue Hinata? What was he going to do?_

Naruto!

_Maybe he could go to Suna? Gaara would protect him, right? Gaara would help him. But what would happen if he descended into the Land of Fire with Suna Shinobi in tow? Would that break the treaty?_

"Naruto!"

Naruto screamed, jumping out of bed, falling to the floor and hitting his head against the wall. Realizing something was knocking on his balcony door, he shook his head to clear it, which only served to make his head throb even more.

"Idiot!" said Sasuke's muffled voice. "Open the door already!"

He peered over his bed and sure enough, Sasuke stood outside the door to the balcony, peeking in with a confused expression on his face. _Sasuke? Wait...the wedding!_ Panicking, believing he had overslept, he glanced over to his clock...and sighed in relief: eight o'clock AM. _Good...I didn't oversleep..._

Sasuke kept knocking on the door, sounding more impatient at Naruto's lack of response. Still feeling very jittery about his nightmare, Naruto jumped over his bed, rushed to the door and let his friend in. "Sorry, Sasuke, I didn't hear you."

"Naruto..." Concern filtered through Sasuke's face or at least, Naruto thought it was concern. He opted to lean against the wall in hopes to calm himself down instead of worrying whether or not emotion had entered Sasuke's system. "I saw you tossing and turning on the bed."

He did not answer. His mind was a mess from the nightmare. _What was I thinking? I can't do this! All it takes is one stupid thing to mess things up and..._ He groaned, holding his head like it was throbbing from a headache or injury. _All I do is stupid things..._

Suddenly, he was pulled away from the wall, finding himself staring straight into Sasuke's face. He blinked a few times before reorienting himself. "Naruto..." growled Sasuke, as if he was starting to get real impatient with his teammate, "What's wrong? You either tell me now or I drag you out of here, find Anko and she'll beat whatever's wrong with you out." He let him go as Naruto had paled at the mention of their former Chuunin exam proctor. Normally, he was not afraid of her, but she certainly defined weirdness and when she put her mind to it, could be very frightening...at least toward the males. "We've got plenty of time so it's your choice."

Naruto sighed. Admitting his weakness in front of his teammate was not something he did, but Sasuke was not giving him many options, especially since he had seen him in the thrashes of a nightmare. "I..." Closing his eyes, he turned away, unable to say it to Sasuke's face. "I can't...I can't do this..."

"...What?"

"I can't do this!" He walked over to his dresser, feeling his eyes watering. "I can't! This traditional stuff? I'm no good at it! I'm going to make a fool out of myself and look like an idiot in front of the elders!" He winced, staring at the brown box that contained his wedding ring to Hinata. "I mean, I know Hinata wouldn't care about that, she never cares about that. I don't know why she doesn't and I don't care what the elders' really think, but we're doing this just to show them we can do traditional stuff, but it's not going to work if I mess it all up!"

He fingered the little brown box. He could not remember when the last time he had felt so depressed. "How can I do this if I'm just going to be - " Suddenly, Naruto went flying across the room from a blow to the back of the head hitting the wall with his shoulder. Sliding down the wall and hitting the floor, he rubbed his head, glaring furiously at Sasuke, who just stood there calmly like nothing had happened. "Sasuke! What was that for?" he screamed.

His teammate walked up to him, calmly, as Naruto continued to rant and curse him. Then Sasuke promptly slapped him on the top of the head. "To bring you to your senses. Idiot!"

"OWW! What - ?"

"You can do this."

That caused Naruto to pause. Sasuke seemed mad; his eyes were narrowed, smoldering with anger, his mouth twisting in a sneer, but yet for all that, he did not feel any real rage from his teammate.

"You've been practicing for this ceremony for the past three months. You know every detail; you've got everything down that even those who know the ceremony wouldn't be able to do it as well as you. You've wasted valuable training time, my valuable training time, to work on this." He snorted. "If those elders try to pull something after all this, they'll wish they hadn't. Just remember that and you won't do anything stupid, got it?"

Naruto just stared, not saying anything as Sasuke turned away and picked up the bag containing his wedding kimono. He came back up to him and threw the bag on him. "Here. I may be your best man, but you're carrying your own stuff. You're capable."

As the bag fell off him and into his lap, a small smile emerged on his face. His head still hurt from where he had been hit and collided with a wall, but it had not felt this clear in a long time. _Nice to have friends who'll back me up when I need it..._ "Thanks, Sasuke," he muttered.

His teammate had opened the door to the bedroom, and then paused, his mouth twitching into a smirk. "What?"

"Heh!" Naruto got up, stretched and smirked right back. "I said you hit like a girl. Really, Sasuke? You're really got to work on that."

"Hn. If I hit like a girl, I would hate to see what that makes you," he countered. "Beat you last time, right?"

"That was a fluke!"

A few minutes later, Naruto, dressed in a black shirt and orange pants, cup ramen in one hand and his bag with the wedding kimono in the other, walked out the door where the rest of their friends had gathered. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of the two. "Finally!" he said, pointing at his watch. He was dressed simply, a green shirt and black pants, as he and the others not attending the ceremony would be at the reception held later. "What took you two so long?"

"Nothing," answered Sasuke, in an unconcerned voice. Naruto felt grateful for that. He did not want to explain his anxiety to the others at the moment. Not that he minded telling anyone, but he was over it and explaining was unnecessary. And he did not need to know how Neji and Kiba would react. "Idiot overslept."

Everyone else momentary looked at each other, sensing more to the explanation than just that. Shino adjusted the glasses he wore today instead of his goggles. "Well, then. I believe we were going to go over the San San Ku Do ritual once more?" he asked, referring to the saké ceremony.

Sasuke nodded. "Right. Just to go over it one last time before the wedding. It's the more time consuming of the other rituals, right?"

"If it keeps Naruto from spilling saké over Hinata," said Kiba, snorting, "yeah, we definitely need to go over it then."

Naruto glared over his ramen. "That was an accident last time, Kiba."

Sai smiled, which Naruto presumed was a fake one. Understanding emotions was still something Sai was learning. "But spilling saké isn't going to be good for the ceremony. I read that in a book so practice makes perfect, yes?"

"No need to worry about that!" shouted Lee as they walked out of Naruto's apartment complex and Naruto switched his ire from Kiba to Sai. "As I am substituting for Hinata-san, I'll make sure Naruto-kun can do the ritual right so that this traditional wedding will be very youthful! If I fail in my goal, I will run 200 laps around Konoha!"

"What!" Neji's white eyes were as round as saucers, filled with fear and horrible nightmares of destruction. He turned to Sasuke with a slight accusing glare in his eyes. "You are using water, correct?"

The other barely flinched under the icy glare. "Of course, Neji. Relax," he said, pointing back Naruto, who was looking back and forth between the two while slurping up his noodles. "Do you really think I would have Naruto drunk before a wedding?"

"Ah." Neji understood the hidden meaning behind Sasuke's words. There would be no saké at a wedding ever in Konoha as long as Rock Lee stood to gain an invite. Team Gai made sure of that and everyone understood the message loud and clear. "You have prepared for everything, then. Good."

"Speaking of being prepared," started Chouji as he looked around in the street, "let's eat first! Can't practice anything if we're starving to death!"

Everyone grinned and muttered their agreement. It was going to be a long day, after all. Empty stomachs only served to make it worse. And Naruto could not think of any other way to ease the tension than enjoying a meal with his friends.

_oOo_oOo_

The butterflies in Hinata's stomach refused to go away. As she sat on the stool, in a simple under kimono, sweating from either her anxiety or all the padding she had to wear, getting her hair fixed into the traditional hairstyle, a bridal topknot, she went through everything that would occur during the ceremony. She knew nothing was out of place and she and Naruto would perform their parts correctly, however, she could not help but worry about it.

She mentioned this to the others and been reassured, at least by the married ones in her party, that such feelings were natural. Hinata appreciated the words, but unfortunately, it did little to ease her fears.

_This isn't just a wedding_, she thought, anxiously, her palms sweating as she gripped her kimono. _It really shouldn't be considered Naruto-kun's and my wedding; it's one the elders are forcing on us...I think that's more of a reason to be nervous than anything else._

Ino stood next to her, watching with interest in Hidemi, a brown haired Hyuuga branch member, work on Hinata's hair. Ino had said she wanted to learn how to style hair in that form so she watched as Hinata's hair from her face was pulled back into a thick bun at the crown of her head and from the back pulled up into the same bun.

Sakura and Tenten were nearby, the former was preparing the make-up table where Hinata's face would be painted white as was customary in the traditional ceremony while Tenten just stood, waiting for Hanabi and the other Hyuuga clan members to bring in the Hyuuga wedding kimono she would wear.

The girls were dressed in simple jyuban or an under kimono for now. The kimono they would wear for the ceremony hung from a hook on the wall: a light pink plain, short-sleeved kimono for Sakura while Tenten had an off-white-brownish short-sleeved kimono with a red embroidered bird design and Hanabi's kimono a blue-gray with reddish brown flowers designs at the bottom and on the obi. Ino would join the reception later with the rest of their friends. She was already bragging about her brand-new purple kimono with flower designs on the bottom.

"Almost done," said Hidemi, knocking Hinata out of her daze. Ino handed her a gold hair stick with golden flowers sticking up on the edges, which Hidemi placed within the bun. She placed an ornate gold hair comb in the front of the bun, another hair stick in the back and two hair clips in the front, all with the golden flowers on the edges. "There!" She stepped back as Ino marveled at the hairstyle. "It's finished, Hinata-sama."

Her head felt heavy. She had had her hair in a bun before, but not with so many hair accessories! However, she nodded and smiled at her hairdresser, pleased with how it had turned out. "Thank you, Hidemi-san. It looks wonderful!"

"I'll say!" exclaimed Ino. "I think I got that. I may practice with my mom later to make sure. I want to see if I can do it for the Konoha wedding later in the week."

Hidemi chuckled politely with one of the sleeves of her kimono in front of her mouth. "Well, I'm glad you seem so eager to learn it. By all means, come and ask if you need any help."

Ino beamed. "Thanks!"

At that moment, Hanabi came in, leading the parade of Hyuuga members carrying the Hyuuga wedding kimono. "Right here," she said, directing them to place the boxes onto the table near the door.

Everyone gathered around the table, Ino, Tenten and Sakura eager to see the kimono they had heard about. They opened the boxes as soon as the Hyuuga members left; only four remained to help Hinata with dressing. "Wow!" said Tenten, staring at the Shiromuku Hanabi brought out.

She could certainly see why her friends were impressed. The Hyuuga clan had put a lot of work into the ancient kimono. Made of silk, the white over kimono called the Shiromuku was long and big with cranes, pine trees, chrysanthemum blossom and the Hyuuga clan symbol embroidered within the cloth. She could already tell it would be heavy to wear and briefly became afraid that she would trip and fall.

The white kimono that she would wear underneath the Shiromuku was made of silk with the same crane, pine and flower designs as the other had along with a plain white obi and a white sash she would wear on her head, right over the hair clips.

Her friends marveled at the material, but Hinata had another thought in mind as she stared fondly at the old kimono. _I wonder what Mother looked like in this kimono when she married Father...?_ She smiled softly. _Will I look like her when put it on?_

"Hinata-sama?" Brought out of her reflection, Hinata turned back to the Hyuuga aides that would help her into the kimono. "I believe we should be getting ready."

_Right..._ she thought, _it's likely almost time for the wedding._ "Of course. Let's get started then." She stepped onto the small platform and waited for the dressing to begin. Her friends and sister stepped to the side, letting the women do their job.

_It's getting closer...it's almost time..._ Hinata mentally sighed, hoping that they would finally get to show off the hard work on everything they had worked for in the past three months.

_Let's show them what we can do, Naruto-kun!_

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto tried to not appear nervous. He did not want to show any weakness to the elders and Tokiwa. Everything was almost ready; he was in his traditional black and white robes, his wedding guests, which the elders had been reluctant to let attend, were dressed. Kakashi, still wearing a mask, Sasuke, Yamato and Iruka all sported dark blue kimono and haori, clan symbols for Kakashi and Sasuke on the back sleeves and collar. Sai wore a black kimono and haori with a Yamanaka clan symbol on the back. Tsunade opted for a black short-sleeved kimono with a green plum blossom design at the bottom while Shizune had a dusky purple kimono in a bonsai tree, cherry blossom and chrysanthemum flower pattern.

When he first saw Tsunade in the kurotomesode, a kimono only close blood relatives wore, Naruto had been struck speechless. Before he could sputter a response to her, the Hokage smirked at him, placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "You think I would see you any other way?" Then she leaned over and whispered into his ear that the short sleeves of the kimono did not justify his nickname for her and he would still earn a one-way trip to the Land of Water if he called her that.

Compared to the Hyuuga clan, however, they were bright and cheery! The entire clan chose to wear dark gray kimono with hardly any designs at all, even the women. Naruto remembered asking Neji about that and got the response that the genius honestly did not care what color of kimono he wore. "It's just convenient to wear the customary robes." Only Kurenai in her plain subdued red kimono, the one non-Hyuuga among Hinata's guests, stood out.

Hoshu stood up at the top of the steps in his formal white robes and hat. He was smiling cheerfully at everyone below him, ignoring the tense air that prevailed between Naruto and Hinata's friends and the elders. His two daughters stood to the side of him, wearing a white robe with red hakama pants.

Naruto gazed up at the sky, trying to figure out the time by using the sun. _It was 2:50 when we left the Hyuuga compound to come here and we've been standing for awhile now. It must be almost 3:30._ He sighed and glimpsed down toward the entrance of the shrine. _Where could Hinata be?_

Then he heard it, sounds of people talking as they made their way up the steps from the shrine gate. Naruto turned toward it, rushing to the sounds, eager to see Hinata right away, but Iruka held him back before he could get too far. "Easy now, Naruto," he said with a smile as their eyes met. "You've waited this long. You can wait a bit longer, right?"

Slightly abashed, Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

At that precise moment, Hinata and her entourage came into view and he had to blink to make sure it was not an illusion. Hinata looked beautiful in the pure white Hyuuga wedding kimono. He was unable to see the designs, but she had told him the kimono had chrysanthemum flower, pine trees and crane designs embroidered into the over kimono. Her hair was done up in what had to be the traditional bridal topknot with a white sash around it, her face painted white and on her feet were white zori sandals.

Only Hinata, Sakura, Tenten and Hanabi continued on toward the shrine. The Hyuuga attendants as well as Ino stayed behind. Up on the shrine steps, Hoshu called out, "Very well, then. Now that we're all here, would the bride and groom please step forward?"

Sakura met up with Sasuke while Tenten and Hanabi joined the Hyuuga side of the temple. Hinata stepped up to Naruto, who had frozen, staring at her, trying to recall when was the last time he saw her that beautiful. "Naruto-kun," she said, smiling, and knocking him out of his daze, "they're waiting for us."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, recalling why they were here. They had a wedding to undergo and elders to impress. "Oh...yeah."

Hinata and Naruto, side by side, followed Hoshu and his daughters into the temple, Hiashi, Hanabi, Neji and Tenten following behind Hinata with the elders trailing behind them. Iruka and Team 7 followed Naruto with Tsunade, Shizune, Sai and Yamato trailing behind. Once in, the Hyuuga clan took their seats on the right side of the temple while the others took their places on the left. Naruto and Hinata walked straight to the main shrine and waited for Hoshu to begin.

The priest waited until his daughters had prepared for the saké portion of the ceremony. When they were done, he nodded toward the group. "First we must make the vow to the deity...if everyone would please stand up?"

The assembly did as they were told, reciting the vow from memory. Hoshu then preformed the purification ceremony. Naruto felt his heart beating rapidly as they sat back down afterwards. The hardest part was coming up right after the next part.

"O'Celestrial Matchmaker, today we mark the occasion of this couple who have recently been married," recited Hoshu, informing the deity that Naruto and Hinata of the day's event. "Please grace us with your good will." He bowed and then signaled his daughters. It was time...

The two priestesses poured some saké into a small somewhat flat cup and placed them in front of the couple. Nervously, Naruto picked up the cup with both hands, brought it up to his mouth and slipped the saké, gradually and bringing the cup down once he was finished. He brought the cup to the table and waited for the priestess to fill it for the next turn.

Hinata carefully sipped hers before setting the cup down. Naruto then did the same thing as before. The next round of saké the order went Hinata first, then Naruto and Hinata again with a larger cup. And the last round, with the largest cup of all, the order was again Naruto, Hinata, Naruto.

As the priestesses cleared up the saké cups, Naruto tried to keep his triumphant spirit from exploding due to doing everything exactly as practiced. After all, he had been prone to mess up at times when excitement entered his system. He would save that for the next day.

"Now," said Hoshu once the priestesses took their places behind him, "will the couple please recite a prayer?"

Both Naruto and Hinata nodded, bowed their heads, reading off the scroll that had been provided and started reciting the prayer, in unison, "O'Celestrial Matchmaker, honor our marriage today, let harmony grow within our new family..." Perfectly said together, but Naruto tried to keep his enthusiasm down to finish it up. "...We seek happiness in our love and in our union..." Halfway done... "...We ask for a good relationship to lead us to a happy life..."

The prayer done, Naruto closed his eyes and tried to relax. They had accomplished the hard part of the saké ceremony and the prayer. It was almost over.

Hoshu's daughters each held a Tamagushi, a branch of a sakaki tree, an evergreen tree that was considered sacred to the deity, for the next ritual. Naruto and Hinata drew near the stand where they were given the sakaki branches. They lay the branches on the table as an offering, made a vow, clapped their hands once and made another vow.

The priestesses started pouring saké again, but Naruto already felt thrilled as they returned to their places to watch the final part of the ceremony. His and Hinata's parts were over. The saké cups were delivered to the guests who drank and wished the couple a good and long relationship. Naruto and Hinata shared a grin, happy with the results, through he wondered how many elders actually spoke the truth in that wish.

Hoshu stood to the left near the Hyuuga clan, smiling more broadly than before. "And that concludes the wedding ceremony. Before we leave, I would like to say a few words." He turned to Naruto and Hinata, giving both a small nod. "Uzumaki-san, Hinata-sama, it has been a pleasure to officiate this ceremony. I wish the two of you a happy and fortunate future."

"Thank you, Priest Hoshu," said Hinata as she bowed to him.

Naruto copied her bow. "Yes," he said, trying to keep his voice very formal, "thank you for everything, Priest Hoshu."

The Hyuuga elders started to make their way out of the temple, remaining unimpressed by the results. Iruka and Team 7 walked up to the couple. "Good job, Naruto," whispered Iruka as they started to leave the temple for the reception.

"See?" said Sasuke, looking bored. "I said you could do it without messing up, impressive to be sure, but you're plenty capable."

The others laughed quietly as Naruto just grinned in response, for once, not bothered by his best friend and rival's comments. He and Hinata had accomplished what they set out to do and, as he took her hand, ignoring everyone else in the vicinity, just staring into her white eyes, he only wished for one thing.

"Come on, Naruto-kun," said Hinata, as he stalled, lost in thought. "We need to be at the reception."

"Right." He wished he could kiss her, but knew the white paint would be ruined if he did. Oh, well. After the reception, he planned to do that.

_oOo_oOo_

"Hinata," whispered Naruto as he glimpsed around the room, "are you sure this is how the reception's suppose to go?

She nodded, realizing that she had forgotten to prep him over what would happen at the reception. For him, the Hyuuga clan's idea of a wedding reception would be very odd. When they had been to his friends' receptions, it had almost felt like a party, a really proper party, but a party nonetheless. They had danced, music played all the time, talked around and ate food.

Well, there was food and people were talking, but the Hyuuga's reception had little else. Lined in two rows on the floor, Naruto's friends sat across from the Main House. With a neat flower arrangement courtesy of Yamanaka Flower Shop behind them, Naruto and Hinata had been placed at the head of those rows, overlooking the entire room. Small trays in front of them, the very traditional food was nice, but nothing could make up the lack of ramen in Naruto's mind. The only thing missing that was usually commonplace at a reception was saké.

Tsunade looked miserable. She sat near the front of her row, right next to Iruka, leaning against the wall, muttering over and over about hating a certain unaware Drunken Fist user forever and ever. Ironically, Lee hovered over her, spouting how she must celebrate their friends' moment of Youth, which only served to make the Godaime's mood sourer. Gai, normally in the thick of it, spouting the same things, wisely chose not to. Instead, he tried to persuade his student from bothering the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama! Please get up and celebrate Naruto and Hinata's glorious moment of Youth! You're missing out on this celebration!"

"Uh...Lee...I don't think this is a good time to be bothering the Hokage..."

"But Gai-sensei, this is a moment to be celebrated, right? You said that weddings are one of the most Youthful things in the world!"

Hinata glanced around. While the elders entertained themselves on their side of the room, they also gave Naruto, Hinata and their friends odd glances every once in awhile as if they thought the group did not belong. Only her father failed to join them, sitting at the head of his row right below Naruto and Hinata with a small smile on his face.

"Do you find this boring, Uzumaki?" he asked.

Instantly, Naruto stiffened, a nervous grin sliding across his face. "Ah...no! Not at all... I just wasn't expecting it like this."

From where he sat, Sasuke chuckled, but Naruto paid him no mind for once. Hiashi, meanwhile, nodded curtly, all the while the slight smile never leaving. Hinata hung her head, sighing at the sight. _Must speak with Father later to stop teasing Naruto-kun..._

Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat. She looked over quickly and noticed Neji rubbing his neck. He put his hand down and turned his head toward the entrance and Hinata followed his gaze.

...To see Tokiwa coming toward them.

Quickly, she nudged Naruto. He turned to her, but said nothing as he spotted the elder woman coming toward them. At once, the couple stood up, straightened their outfits, Hinata's kimono and Naruto's traditional robes, trying to seem at ease amidst the tension that had settled between them, their friends and the Main House elders.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," said Tokiwa, fanning herself.

"Thank you very much, Tokiwa-sama," replied Hinata as she and Naruto bowed.

"Yes," said Naruto, "Thank you, Tokiwa-sama."

The other smiled faintly. "I have been talking to the other council members. They were very pleased to see everything went perfectly."

Tokiwa continued to fan herself, outwardly unaware of the awkward pause that had risen due to her statement. _They're...pleased? _Hinata was sure had this been uttered by someone other than an elder, Naruto and Kiba would have pounced on it in complete denial. The reception feeling tense and the glares sent her, Naruto and their friends' way said another thing entirely about the elders' feelings toward them.

"Yes, they are very pleased," continued Tokiwa, ignoring the lull in the conversation. There seemed to be a bounce in her step, like it would propel her out of the hall any minute. "I dare even say they are delighted by how well the two of you performed the rituals."

Hinata blinked, somewhat confused now. For the entire preparations for the wedding, Tokiwa had acted strangely, somewhat aloof, distant and a look in her eyes that made it seem she looked down on Naruto for even being near her. But now...she appeared like she was when Hinata was a child. Happy, peppy, like she was a spring ready to be released.

Hinata fleetingly glanced to Naruto, trying to see if he was seeing the same thing. She noticed his face carefully blank, a slight strain on his mouth, like he was trying to keep himself from speaking and his eyes clouded in confusion.

Tokiwa seem amused as she gazed around at their friends. "Well, I suppose I should take my leave now. The members and I will leave the reception to you, Hinata-sama, your husband and friends." She chuckled lightly. "I'm sure you children have different ideas of fun than us older people!"

"Uh..." said Naruto and Hinata together, uncertain whether to agree or disagree with that statement.

"I thought so!" chimed Tokiwa before they could say anything. She turned to Hiashi and bowed to him. "Hiashi-sama." She turned to Hinata and did the same. "Hinata-sama." Then she turned to Naruto and, much to his and everyone else's surprise, bowed to him. "I suppose, it's Naruto-sama now, is it?" she noted as she rose.

Sasuke appeared to be choking on something. Naruto shifted between his feet, his face growing hot as he became uncomfortable. "Ah...you don't have to..." he said, finally, but uncertain. "I'm not sure I'm used to that title yet..."

He gazed at her as if he were not sure of her reaction, but Tokiwa seemed unphased. "Very well. Naruto-san, it is. Perhaps we'll switch to it when you grow more comfortable?"

Naruto laughed nervously, but the laughter never filled his eyes. "Maybe..."

Still fanning herself, Tokiwa nodded and turn to leave. Apparently, all the elders took that as their cue to exit the room as they stood up quickly and immediately, some of them continuing to send sharp glares as they passed. Tokiwa, the last to exit, sent them a cheery smile as she did so.

Silence now reined the reception. Finally, Chouji broke it, his sushi having long been forgotten. "What...just happened?" he asked, glancing around for someone to explain it to him.

Next to her, Hiashi slipped his green tea. He looked as if to be the only one not stunned. "I believe what just happened is that we've gained a new ally."

A pause and then everyone exploded. "HUH?"

Shino stared at Hiashi as if analyzing him and trying to figure things out. "What do you mean, new ally?" he asked. "After everything Tokiwa-sama put Naruto through, the last thing I expected was for her to help."

"Yeah!" Naruto had forgotten his previous fear of Hiashi. "What made her change her mind?"

"I don't think her mind was changed, exactly," said Hiashi, apparently amused for some reason by everyone glaring at him. "I believe she did what was necessary to help us in convincing the council in accepting the reforms."

Unfortunately, the info did not seem to help any. "What?" exclaimed Ino, angrily. "She made Naruto miserable. He had to do everything himself. Buy the kimono, practice the saké ceremony..." Tsunade groaned at the mention of saké. "Memorize the prayers...where is the helping part?"

Everyone nodded, waiting for Hiashi to answer, who chuckled some before sipping his tea again. "But you see, that's exactly what helped," he said and at everyone's confused expressions, continued. "I am sure the reason why Tokiwa made Uzumaki miserable was to prompt him and Hinata to prepare almost everything themselves. Their efforts to do things exactly as tradition demanded it showed they do value certain traditions, which would prompt the members to rethink their positions on our reforms."

"So in other words," started Kiba, his voice skeptical that everything his friends had gone through actually had a purpose, "Naruto and Hinata accomplished what they set out to do? They've won?"

"Not quite..." Frowning, Hiashi put down his tea. "We should find it an easier time in convincing the council at the moment, however, it will still take a long while before we can officially implement the reforms." He sighed, staring down at the floor. "There will still be members who will remain stubborn and not budge. What'll happen now is that Tokiwa will begin to actively convince those who are more sympathetic now that they know we value some traditions. Once those are convinced, they'll do the same to others and so forth and so forth."

"Sounds like you've just broken a barrier," suggested Shikamaru. "Or a dam. Before, the dam refused to rupture. If you keep at it, the cracks will get bigger and eventually, the dam will burst, am I right?"

"Interestingly put," commented Hiashi. "You're correct. It's still going to be a long road ahead for us, but eventually, we'll get them." He smiled slightly. "It's only a matter of time now."

Naruto and Hinata could hardly believe it. _All this time...after everything we've done..._ she thought. She stared up at Naruto, his eyes unfocused as if he was having a hard time comprehending it all. _Our dream...mine, Father's, Neji's...of one day, the Hyuuga clan will be different...it's actually happening..._

However, the rest of their friends still did not seem happy at the results. Sasuke and Sakura stared at the doorway in which Tokiwa had left, their eyes smoldering in anger. "And to think," growled Sasuke, a dark look on his face, "all it took was for Naruto and the rest of us losing our sanity. I have half of mind to go up to her and let her have it."

Sakura cracked her knuckles. "Agreed," She added, in an equally dark tone.

"I think not!" The ensuing exchange had finally awoken Tsunade from her saké-withdrawn state. She glared over at her student and her husband. "I have enough to deal with already with the nobles breathing down my neck. I'm not dealing with the elders of the Hyuuga clan. You'll do no such thing!" And then she laid her head back against the wall, through Hinata thought she heard the Hokage mumble something about wanting to do it first.

Abruptly, Naruto took Hinata's hands and held them as he stared hopelessly in her eyes. "Hinata...I don't think I'm really going to understand anyone in your family except you," he said, uncertainly. "You don't mind that, do you?"

She giggled. The tension in the air had disappeared and their friends tried to contain themselves from dissolving into outright laughter. She supposed it was somewhat amusing. "No, I don't mind that at all, Naruto-kun."

Behind her, her father cleared his throat, which sent Naruto panicking, his blue eyes darting between her and Hiashi, his skin started sweating and he started breathing harder. "Except you, Hiashi, Hanabi and Neji!" he added, hastily. "Is that...okay?"

Kiba stuffed his face with sushi to cover up his laughter, not that it stopped Sasuke smirking and Sakura from hiding her face, her shoulders shaking from restrained sniggering. With a smile on his face, Hiashi stood up and started to leave.

Hinata was torn between amusement at Naruto's statement and sighing at her father's continued teasing. Naruto relaxed, nearly falling back onto the floor as he wiped his forehead of the sweat that had acuminated on his brow. Coming up to him, patting him on the shoulder, Neji reassured him everything was okay between him and Hiashi, which appeared to do very little.

"Well!" started Ino, standing up and looking determined. "We've got this reception all to ourselves, right? So let's find some way of salvaging this party!"

While Lee loudly voiced his approval, causing Tsunade to growl and groan more, Hinata sat down with Naruto, taking a hold of his hand. "Are you all right, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He gave her a cheerful smile and she could tell he meant it. He really was back to normal. "It's been a long and stressful day. I'm just glad it's over." He quickly looked over to where Hiashi exited from. "You can go talk to him, Hinata, if you want."

She blinked rapidly, startled. She had wanted to talk with her father for a moment, but felt that could wait until after she spoke with Naruto since he had been teased by him again. "Are you sure? It can wait if you want?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nah, go on. I'll be fine and you'll be back, right?" He chuckled, caressing her hand. "It's not a wedding reception if the bride doesn't attend, right?"

"Right..." She smiled, reluctantly taking away her hand. "I'll be back soon, then."

As her friends began to turn the reception into a bit more relaxing event for themselves, Hinata slipped away, outside the room with the bamboo doors and through the wooden porch to the outside garden. She stepped out onto the grounds and called out, "Father!"

He turned around, his eyes lit up in surprise. "Hinata? Shouldn't you be back in there with your friends?"

She nodded, biting her lip a little. "Yes, but I wanted to talk to you about something. It's about...Naruto-kun... You never used to tease him like that, not until our engagement." She shifted her feet, suddenly feeling like a child again, only this time, her adult mind pushing to have this answered. "So I'm wondering why? I thought you approved of him?"

Hiashi chuckled lightly as if amused. "Hinata...if I had not wanted you to marry Uzumaki, I would have said no to your betrothal."

She tilted her head, somewhat confused over his response. "Father...?"

Crossing his arms, he turned away, gazing instead at the sun that had just began to set over the lush green forest that resided near the village, turning the leafy forage into an orange pallet Naruto would have been proud to wear. "It's...not easy...seeing your daughter marry..."

At once, Hinata gazed down, losing her nerve at speaking with her father. "I'm sorry, Father," she said, quickly. "I'll leave now and go back to the reception."

"I suppose that's just my way of coping with things."

She did not leave. Instead, she stared at Hiashi, briefly wondering what emotions were playing on his normally impassive face...if they had materialized at all. Perhaps that was why he turned away, so she would not see if any had graced his face. "Father..."

"It's really not something you prepare for," he continued, his voice strangely even. "I guess, one day, you and Uzumaki will understand it...perhaps you'll have a daughter and see her go through all of this as well."

Even through his voice sounded like he was not emotional at all, that he was calm and nothing was wrong, even though she could not remember when the last time she had done this had been, she ran around and embraced her father in a tight hug.

Hiashi gave a small cry of surprise at her actions and awkwardly patted her on the back. "Hinata..."

"Thank you, Father," she said. She had not realized how hard this might have been on Hiashi. Their relationship had been rocky to the point where she even wondered if he even wanted her within the family. Over the years, it had improved, as her confidence grew, as the rift between her father and Neji healed, as they all came together, mostly thanks to Naruto. However, despite all that, despite their improving bond, Hinata had not thought he would have been bothered by her engagement and pending marriage. His inexpressive manner scarcely changing, he had never gave the impression to be disturbed by it. "Thank you."

He pushed her away, suddenly, and she stared up at his face. It was calm, impassive, just like always. He smiled slightly, the only hint of emotion that existed in Hyuuga Hiashi. "You're welcome, Hinata." The smile turned wry as he gazed back at the reception hall. "Now, I believe you have a party to be at?"

She nodded. "Yes, I guess I do. You won't tease Naruto-kun too badly, will you?"

He chuckled, apparently, still amused. "I won't cause too much harm upon your husband. I promise."

Figuring that would be the best she could get, Hinata bowed slightly to her father and made her way back to the reception, Hiashi watching her until she entered the room, to her friends, to the people she considered a second family and of course, to Naruto.

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto laid back on his couch, finally out of his formal kimono and into far more comfortable orange pants and black shirt, and for the first time that day, completely and utterly relaxed. "So how long do you have?" he asked.

Next to him, out of the layers of kimono and in loose purple pants and a lilac shirt, Hinata snuggled up to him as if she would be torn away from him at any moment. "Father said I could stay for two hours." She smiled, despite that, after such a stressful day, they would be alone for a short time. "It is getting late," she added. Outside the window, the stars could be seen twinkling in the dark sky. "I'm surprised he let me come at all, with it so late and all."

"Two hours to spend to ourselves...but we can't do anything your dad will skin me alive for, right?" he said, grinning despite talking about his possible death if Hiashi caught them doing anything inappropriate.

Hinata giggled. "Right."

Sighing, Naruto wrapped his arm around his almost wife. He was not sure if they could consider themselves husband and wife yet since they had two more weddings to go through. Of course, he would rather not think of the Konoha wedding that would spring up on them within three days. "It looks like everything went well."

"Yes," responded Hinata, nodding as well. "I'm actually surprised that it appears to have made a difference. I don't think I honestly expected anything to have changed with the elders regardless of what we did."

Naruto could not help but agree there. After over a year of arguing with the council, realistically, he had not expected them to budge at all. And really, they had not moved yet, but if Hiashi was correct, they had a better chance than they ever had.

Hinata frowned. "I suppose Tokiwa-sama really helped us after all, through I wish she had done something less stressful."

Naruto groaned, burying his face into Hinata's dark blue hair. His opinion on Tokiwa had not changed much; through he believed he could tolerate her in the end. Not that other ideas had crossed his mind. "I'm tempted to go with Sasuke, Sakura-chan and the Old Lady's suggestion. It sounds much easier."

And with that, laughter filled the apartment. The day, filled with tension, almost cold feet, stressed out and nerves frayed, dissolved into thin air. Naruto had not felt this free since the preparations for the weddings began. As he and Hinata lay on the couch, having collapsed due to their uncontrolled giggle fit, Naruto remembered something had had been wanting to do all day.

Before she could say or object to anything, he quickly leaned over and pecked Hinata on the cheek.

He grinned as she stared up at him in surprise. "I've wanted to do that all day."

She giggled again. "Just that?" she asked, slyly, her white eyes sparkling with mischief.

Naruto frowned, but enjoyed his attempts at figuring out what Hinata was thinking. "That wasn't what I had in mind, no...but will that be considered inappropriate in Hiashi's eyes?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, I don't think Father will mind."

With that answer, Naruto felt his cheeks redden as he grinned like crazy and Hinata smiled shyly. They leaned toward each other with Naruto feeling like some things would never change. But for the two hours of time they had left before they parted for the night, he would not have it any other way.

* * *

So…how did it go? :) Was Tokiwa all right? She was a quite tricky OC to write, I admit. It took awhile for the reception scene to write, but once I got it, I felt a lot better about it.

Hiashi and Hinata have a father-daughter moment…awww! Something tells me Hiashi isn't going to let up all that much on Naruto! XD

But the first hurdle has been cleared! Onward to the Konoha Wedding!

Thanks for reading! – NessaMoon


	6. Second Ceremony: Konoha Wedding

Wedding bells are ringing…again! It's been a few days since the Hyuuga Wedding, now it's time for the Konoha one. The one with nobles. Joy. It sounds easy enough, but will it really be that easy? I suppose you'll have to read on and see!

Enjoy!

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre:** Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**Second Ceremony: Konoha Wedding**

Hinata sighed and glanced at the window to see the sun rising slowly into the sky. The red-orange orb had centered itself right in the middle of her window, indicating that it was mid-morning. It would be time to get ready for the wedding soon.

When she woke up around six with her stomach exploding in apprehension, instead of trying to get some sleep, she opted to ease herself by pressing some flowers. And it was actually working. She felt a lot calmer than when she first woke up.

_I hope Naruto-kun is okay..._ she thought as she turned the knob, tightening the press to flatten the flower. He would be tense over the wedding being held today. He had been very jumpy the day of the Hyuuga wedding, but they had overcome that to perform the rites flawlessly. Still, despite their success, large events could still make one lose focus.

_He'll likely find something relaxing to do, maybe hide out for a while until time to get ready? I just hope he doesn't get too anxious._

Slowly, realizing Hanabi would be around soon to retrieve her, Hinata started putting up her flower presses so her latest blossoms would be preserved and began to put away her books she used to flatten flowers that held special meaning to her. She gave one last glance at her scrapbook, lingering over a special orange petunia, a rare flower Naruto had managed to gain seeds of.

_I hope today goes well..._

There was a slight tap at her door. "Hinata-neesan!"

"Coming!" Hinata closed her book and placed it on the shelf with the rest of her collection. She headed toward the door, trying to mentally prepare herself for the coming day. _Maybe the orange petunia I added today will be our good luck charm..._

_oOo_oOo_

The sun was making its way through the sky. Naruto figured it had to be mid-morning because of that. It would not be long until he had to leave to get ready for the ceremony later that day.

Naruto stretched out, getting his legs used to movement after sitting for so long. He was on top of Hokage Mountain, right above the head of the Fourth Hokage. His yellow sage eyes could take in the lush green forests beyond Konoha, yet the village was blind to him. He was far enough back that no one could see him by merely looking up at the mountain. The only way anyone could notice him is if they had the Byukugan and he was not concerned about that. Hinata knew he valued his privacy and would not violate it. Neji, meanwhile, felt using the Byukugan on a person who clearly wanted to be alone was a waste and would not do it. Add to the fact that he kept his chakra down and used Sage mode to monitor his surroundings and he had the perfect spot to escape to when he wished it.

_I feel Sasuke and the others looking for me, _he thought, feeling the energy of his friends wander around below. His heightened senses could even make out them yelling his name. He also felt Neji standing in one spot, at Ichiraku Ramen, knowing that would be where Naruto would show up eventually.

He grinned and continued to lean against the rock, more content to relax. After waking up early and giving up on getting some more sleep, he had retreated to his secret spot to unwind. He especially wanted to keep calm after falling out of bed the morning of the Hyuuga wedding. Using senjutsu helped him tremendously as the focus gave him a chance to loosen up and the natural energies that surrounded him soothed him. He was not quite as panicky as he was when he had arrived in the early hours before dawn.

The sounds of his friends drew closer so he could hear them perfectly clear without any heightened sense at all. He laughed quietly. "I wonder if they realize," he said softly to himself, "they could just send one of my toads to find me." All of his friends had scrolls where they could call upon a toad in case of emergencies so they could find him easily if they summoned Gamakichi or another toad. He would replace the scrolls, too. He wondered why his friends did everything the hard way.

Slowly, grudgingly, Naruto rose from his spot and, still in sage mode to avoid detection, he made his way down Hokage Mountain to Ichiraku Ramen. As much as he enjoyed the peace and quiet, he had wedding to get to and he should show himself before Sasuke and the others tore about the village trying to find him.

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto tried to focus on his friends. He felt like if he thought about what was outside the curtain he currently had his back to at the moment, he would pass out.

_Boy, am I glad the village will be the only crowd I'll have to accept the Hokage nomination in front of!_

The assembly that had gathered outside was much larger than he imagined. Only 100 people had come to the wedding out of the 500 Shizune originally said she sent out invitations for, but it did not look like it! The main area where the guests sat in front of the altar was filled to the brim. He spotted a bunch of people he knew, all his friends, teachers and anyone else he knew personally took up seats in that section. The Kage from the other villages resided in that section as well and the rest were nobles from the Land of Fire's court. Even Lady Orika and her assistant, Takumi, had been given seats for the ceremony, looking ever so excited to be attending.

Behind the main section of seats, stadium-style seats rose into the air, almost as tall as some of the trees in the area, but not enough to block out the spectacular view of Hokage Mountain or the tall buildings of the village in front. The villagers took up this section, filled to the brim. Almost the entire village had come out to see the ceremony. There was a split in the middle of the seats where a white tent had been put up, dividing the two sections with a curtain hanging down in front. The wedding progression would emerge from that curtain...Hinata would come out of that curtain.

The thought of her had kept him from passing out in sheer shock of the amount of people attending. Chokichi had helped, too. The priest, with short brown hair, small round glasses and a joyful smile, was sitting next to him now, dressed in white robes and holding a black book. It was filled with what he needed to say during the ceremony. "It's quite useful, don't you think?" he had said, cheerfully, when he had shown him what was inside.

Chokichi, after directing him away from staring out of the curtain, had advised him to think of other things, which was what Naruto was attempting to do now.

His groomsmen stood around, clad in Orika's white shirt, gray vest, black pants and haori or in Shikamaru's case, sitting, waiting for the wedding to start. Kakashi and Iruka stood to the side in their black suits. His teachers had said they were around for moral support until time for the ceremony, but mostly they were around to make sure that the grooms' party did not strangle anyone.

Like now. Sasuke glared at Shikamaru, his posture stiff like he was trying to hide something, "Nara," he said, curtly.

Shikamaru gazed up at him in a lazy fashion, one eyebrow raised as if he wondered what prompted the formal tone. "Sasuke? What is it?"

"I am hoping you understand that this is just a ceremony, nothing more, nothing less," said Sasuke, his voice strained. "Meaning your part is just to escort Sakura down the aisle, nothing more, understood?"

It took everything Naruto had not to fall to the floor laughing and earning a glare from his teammate in the process. The wedding procession at the end included the groomsmen escorting the bridesmaids off the altar and out of sight until time for the reception. Neji and Sai had opted to escort their wives, Tenten and Ino. However, Sasuke being the Best Man, had little choice but to escort the Maid of Honor, who happened to be Hanabi, which meant Sakura got to be escorted by the one groomsman left: Shikamaru.

In other words, Sasuke was letting his jealously get the better of him...again.

Shikamaru stared at Sasuke incredibility. "Sasuke, I wouldn't think of doing anything that hasn't been otherwise stated," he responded. "Besides, if I did do something, you would have to get in line. Actually, I doubt there would be anything left after Temari's summons got a hold of me."

He sighed, muttering how the whole ceremony was beginning to be troublesome now. Sasuke, however, took his answer as an agreement as he nodded curtly, his body still tense and stiff. "Good. Glad we understand each other."

Not far from where Sasuke and Shikamaru were having their little chat, Neji and Sai stood, observing the exchange. Sai, before anyone could realize and prevent it, turned around to face Neji. "I do believe Sasuke is jealous, don't you think, Neji?" he asked, with a smile on his face.

Behind him, Sasuke's ears twitched. Neji glanced between the two hesitantly. "I don't think you should have said anything about that," he muttered.

"Really?" asked Sai, sounding confused. "Why not?"

Naruto grinned as Kakashi and Iruka grabbed Sasuke to prevent him from attacking Sai. _Friends like these makes it easy to forget about what you're worrying over..._

Shizune walked in at that very moment. The pressure of the event appeared to be much worse for her now that the wedding was actually underway. In a light blue dress, she flipped though the papers on her clipboard, not having taken in the scene before her just yet. "All right. It's almost time to get started," she said. "Like in rehearsal, Priest Chokichi stands on the mark in the middle, Naruto's next to him on the right, right as in his back to the audience right, followed by Sasuke, Shikamaru, Ne - " She glanced up right then, her eyes widened in surprise and worry. "What's going on?"

Iruka chuckled lightly, smiling anxiously, as Kakashi took a somewhat less furious Sasuke aside to talk. "It's nothing, Shizune-san. Just a small disagreement. We've handled it."

The Hokage's assistant processed the area, taking in Naruto, who was barely trying to contain his laughter, an uneasy Neji, an oblivious Sai and Kakashi speaking to a Sasuke who was slowly calming down. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," responded Kakashi as he and Sasuke rejoined the group. "Right, Sasuke?"

Despite his sensei's reassurance, Naruto felt sure Sai would hear from the Uchiha the very next day. But that was just a regular day with Team 7 so he was sure everything would be fine. "Yeah," said Sasuke, a tad of annoyance seeping into his voice, "it's nothing to worry about."

Shizune did not look convinced, but resumed flipping through her checklist, dropping the subject. "Okay, then. In that case, we had best get ready to line up. In about four minutes, all of you will walk out and..."

Naruto and the others all began to line up as instructed. Suddenly, he felt like his stomach had exploded, his nerves resurfacing as Shizune continued to go about what needed to be done. He could see just a little bit of the main guest seating area; the part that contained people he actually knew, thankfully. But this was it; the Konoha wedding, the big event, filled with people he had never met. Naruto, feeling himself sweating, his heart beating faster, tried to keep his breathing even.

And then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Nervous, Naruto?"

He looked back to see Sasuke smirking. Ignoring his nerves, he just grinned in response. "Heh, I'm fine." He turned back around, hoping his cockiness would override the stress he was feeling. "Think I'm going to let all this bother me now?"

"I wouldn't think so," responded Sasuke. Naruto could hear the disbelief in his voice. "I wouldn't think you would be affected by crowds or anything like this." The churning in his stomach was getting worse every moment. "Knowing you, you'll focus on one thing and one thing only: Hinata."

This time, the smile was genuine. Naruto smiled fondly, thinking of her, imagining her walking down the aisle, next to him as they said their vows. He still felt tense, but Hinata kept the nerves from overtaking him. Perhaps this wedding was demanded of them, for the nobles, but they had done their best to make it theirs. They would try to enjoy it. Everyone would.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I plan on doing."

The four minutes had passed and Shizune ushered them onto the altar where the wedding would soon take place.

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata felt so anxious. She sat, dressed in creamy white kimono-like gown Lady Orika designed, in a chair as Ino, with Hidemi nearby, fixed her hair into a bridal topknot. Behind the stadium served as the preparation area for the bridal party, with a white tent giving them some privacy. Ino had her usual ponytail, but braided with a purple ribbon instead of loose. Sakura was staring into a mirror that had been placed on the stadium wall, combing her short pink hair, nervously. All of them were wearing Orika's ivory white gowns.

"Come back here!"

Hinata's attention was directed toward Tenten, attempting to quiet the two seven-year-old flower girls. Hyuuga Itoki, a young girl with brown hair from the Main House of the clan, and Hyuuga Kiyori, the black hair daughter of a Branch member of the clan, ran around in their plain white dresses, giggling together and playing what they thought was tag with Tenten, who was supposed to be in charge of them. Her hair in two buns, but more loose and curly, Tenten kept trying to calm the two down with little success.

Hinata could not help but smile at the two light-hearted girls. She and Naruto knew no one who had daughters so when it came to choosing the flower girls the first thought in her mind was to have those two, symbolizing the split within the Hyuuga clan. Itoki was the daughter of a friend while Neji had recommended Kiyori, saying her father had helped him as a child after the incident with the Hidden Cloud village.

Even through Tenten was obvious stressed by trying to keep the two in check, Hinata felt happy that these two girls remained unaffected just yet by the division of their clan. _I hope the end of that comes soon so they'll never have to experience it._

Her father stood nearby, dressed in traditional Hyuuga robes, having refused to wear anything modern. His eyes closed as he leaned against the stadium walls. However, Hiashi stepped in front of the two girls as they had come toward him to pass. "That'll be enough now," he said as the two came to a halt in front of him.

Kiyori's face fell and she quickly bowed. "Yes, Hiashi-sama," she said, her voice somewhat meek. Hinata almost sighed. Even through her father was not acting remotely threatening, Kiyori responded just as most branch family members acted. Briefly, she wondered if Kiyori's family had any run-ins with the Main House to have drilled such behavior at her seven years of age.

"But Hiashi-sama!" protested Itoki, somehow being polite and demanding at the same time. "We were just having some fun!"

Hiashi turned toward her, his face not changing from its neutral expression. "Be that as it may, Tenten is your caretaker during this event. You had best listen to her and be on your best behavior, is that understood?"

Tenten had finally caught up to the two girls as Kiyori nodded meekly and Itoki appeared disheartened. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama," she said, bowing. She then took the two girls' hands. "Come on, I've got a nice game for you two to play while we wait."

"Really?" squealed Itoki, her face becoming excited. Kiyori began to appear interested as well.

Tenten laughed and smiled. "Of course. Now, come along."

As Kiyori and Itoki happily followed Tenten, Hiashi returned to leaning against the stadium wall, Hinata thought she caught a bare hint of a smile gracing his face as he did so.

Hair in a simple bun with decorative gold hair sticks poking out, Hanabi was speaking with a boy with black spiky hair and red-rimmed eyes, Kurenai's eight-year-old son, Yoshito, the ringbear for the ceremony. Yoshito wore black pants with a white shirt and a black haori instead of a jacket.

"Now you remember what you need to do, Yoshito?" asked Hanabi.

The boy nodded, holding out the white pillow with the rings on them right in the middle. They had been secured with a seal within the pillow. All Yoshito had to do was mutter 'kai' and the rings would be freed. "Yep! I remember exactly what Aunt Ino told me. And I won't let Aunt Ino down!"

Hanabi blinked curiously, her white eyes clouding in confusion. "Aunt Ino? Shouldn't you be more worried about Hinata's opinion?"

Yoshito shook his head, his face pretty impassive for an eight-year-old boy. "No. Aunt Hinata will be nice about it and won't get angry. Aunt Ino will be the one to get mad and she gets really mad when things don't go her way!"

Silence dominated the bridal procession. Hinata wanted to laugh at his statement, but bit her lip to keep herself from doing so. After all, Ino was fixing her _hair_. Tenten shivered as she kept herself from doing the same, but kept her face away from Ino just in case. Sakura, on the other hand, ran toward the end of the stadium seats, hid behind its wall and just lost it.

Ino twitched as what had to be rage began to fill her, but then she put on a calm expression and proceeded to fix Hinata's hair just like she had been doing. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped," she said, in a haughty voice. "I wouldn't want to ruin Hinata's day for such a silly thing like that."

"Liar!" yelled Sakura, peeking around the wall. "You'll start something about it the moment the reception ends!"

"Quiet, Forehead-girl!" growled Ino. "I'm trying to be mature about this!"

_Some things never change,_ thought Hinata, giddily. The antics of her bridal party had quelled her nerves some. She was glad to have her friends around to assist her in dealing with the pressure, even when they were unaware of helping.

Ino's response only caused Sakura to snort in response, however, before any more could be said or done, Shizune entered the area, looking as frazzled as ever. Her actions rushed, she glanced all around the area. "Is everyone ready? Prepared? It's almost time!"

Hinata felt Ino finish up fixing her hair, putting the hair sticks in place, making some last adjustments to the topknot and accessories. "Finished!" She glanced toward Hidemi, who appeared to be somewhat nervous to be around the girls now. "Was that all right, Hidemi-san?" she asked the elder Hyuuga hairdresser.

She smiled, timidly. "Yes...that was very good, Ino-san."

Ino celebrated her accomplishment as Sakura rejoined them with Hinata's veil in hand and Tenten herded Itoki and Kiyori to where Shizune stood. "All right," said Shizune. "Everything's in order. Now here's the order everyone needs to go out..."

As Shizune explained that, Sakura and Hanabi fitted the veil onto Hinata's hair, the front of it falling into her face, hiding it until the very end. Afterward, everyone started to get into place, Hinata watching, feeling her anxiety return with full force. Tenten and Ino already stood in line with Sakura falling in behind Ino. They held their bouquets, each one had a different flower; Tenten had orange tulips while Ino carried purple heliotrope and Sakura picked up her bouquet of white orange blossoms.

Itoki and Kiyori stood behind the bridesmaids, their baskets filled the colorful petals that consisted of the bridesmaids' bouquets. Yoshito took his place behind the two girls, holding the pillow carefully, even though there was little doubt the rings would fall due to the seal.

Hanabi plucked two bouquets from a table, her own consisting of daisies, and Hinata's. "Here, neesan," she said, giving her a small smile as if to reassure her.

Hinata took the bouquet, returning the smile. _She must sense how tense I am._ Hinata clung to her bouquet, white daisies surrounded by orange tulips and purple heliotrope with white orange blossoms hanging from the bouquet as if the flowers flowed from the bouquet like water out of a fountain, holding it close to her body. "Thank you, Hanabi," she responded in turn, the palms of her hands sweating under her white gloves.

Her sister nodded and took her place behind Sakura. Hiashi stepped up to Hinata, holding out his arm so she could hold on to it as the music started and Shizune started waving everyone out one by one.

_It's starting!_ Hinata felt apprehensive again. _The wedding's starting!_ She tried to calm herself down. They had rehearsed this over and over. _Nothing's going to go wrong..._

Tenten was already gone. Ino disappeared through the curtain.

_Everything's fine._ Hinata took a few deep breaths, reassuring herself. _I know exactly what's going to happen. I don't need to worry._

Both Sakura and Hanabi were already through the curtain. Itoki and Kiyori happily chatted to each other, excited that it would be their turn next.

Hinata kept her head up, trying to remain firm and resolved through this. _I'll walk down the aisle, get onto the platform where the altar is, stand next to Naruto-kun and perform the ceremony with him. This is supposed to be a happy time for us, regardless of the nobles._

The flower girls were gone. Yoshito walked through the curtain. Hinata and Hiashi stepped up, waiting for Shizune to tell them when to go.

_I'm ready._ Hinata smiled, her white eyes shining as she thought of Naruto. _We're ready. We can do this and then...after all this is over..._ She felt excitement stirring within her heart as she thought of how close it all was. _Soon, we can hold our own personal wedding._

Shizune nodded and waved them through. Feeling like she was perfectly fine, Hinata took a step out of the curtain with her father...

And froze.

Her white eyes darted around, filling with fear. There were so many people! Everyone's eyes were on her. People she did not even know were watching her, staring at her like stormy clouds suddenly obscuring the clear blue sky. Her hands shook slightly and she gripped her bouquet harder than before.

_I can't do this!_ she thought, frantically. _I'm not ready! Not in front of so many people! I don't see anyone I know, I can't see Kiba-kun, Shino-kun or Kurenai-sensei! I can't do this in front of people I don't even know!_

"Hinata?" She barely registered her father's voice.

What prompted her to even think she could handle being in front of so many people? She could feel their eyes, gazing at her, muttering to themselves as the music played. Why had she not thought of this beforehand? _I can't do this! I can't!_

She felt someone poke her gently from behind. "Hinata-san!" whispered Shizune, fiercely. "Straight ahead! Naruto-kun's right there!"

_Naruto-kun?_ Hinata started blinking, broken out of her frozen state. _Where?_ And then she saw him, his blond, spiky hair sticking out of the crowd, above the others on the raised altar , looking extremely handsome in his groom outfit in her eyes. He was gawking at her, too, but he seemed more stunned than anything else. Like he had never seen her before today. Then he smiled, nodded and gently jerked his head back, indicating she should join him.

That was all Hinata needed. She glanced up at her father, who stared at her looking concerned, and nodded. Feeling relaxed now, they walked down the aisle. As she did so, she began to make out the familiar faces: Kiba, Shino and Kurenai. Tsunade, Kakashi, Iruka and Gai. Lee and Chouji. Gaara, Matsuri, Kankuro and Temari. The sunny face and hair of her groom broke through the stormy skies of the unknown people; giving way to the people she knew and loved, their faces as clear as the blue sky today.

Hinata and her father walked up the ramp up to the altar and she gave Naruto a thankful smile as she joined him. Hiashi gave Naruto a curt nod. "Take care of her, Uzumaki," he whispered.

Naruto grinned and for once, did not cower under his stare; rather he returned it with an equally determined one. "You have my word, Hiashi."

Nodding, her father let go of her hand and left the altar to sit in the front row.

_That went well..._ She was glad the two were at ease. She loved both of them, but the teasing her father seemed to enjoy putting Naruto under would only make her fiancée jumpy today.

"You look beautiful, Hinata," muttered Naruto, gazing at her again like he had never seen her before. He grasped her hands, which still held her bouquet, his blue eyes lingering on her face through the veil. "So beautiful..."

She could not help but blush. He was always saying that. Chokichi appeared amused at the two. "I believe we're ready to begin," he said, putting his hand on the microphone ready to turn it on.

The couple nodded and Chokichi switched on the microphone. "Ladies, gentlemen," started Chokichi, his voice echoing for all to hear, from Hiashi, Tsunade, the remaining Konoha 12 and their other friends to the villagers gathered in the back, "family, friends, esteemed guests! We are gathered here today to witness the marriage between Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto."

The audience clapped politely. "In the years they have been together," continued Chokichi, "their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured. They have endured many trials. For both Naruto and Hinata, finding each other took more than just a look and a glance." The priest shook his head as if to emphasize the point. "No, their love grew from their common values, their nindo and the understanding they have for each other as well as their mutual respect. They bring their life together with roots in love and friendship. I hope that everyone here will contribute to the beauty of this relationship, let them draw meaning from their friendships and family. Now...does anyone here have any objections to this couple taking the vows of marriage?"

Naruto looked out at the crowd, smirking as if he dared anyone to try and voice their displeasure. Hinata giggled slightly at him and felt certain their friends were doing the same.

"Very well." Chokichi opened his book and adjusted his glasses. "We shall now begin the wedding vows." He turned to Naruto. "Do you, Naruto, take Hinata, to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do you part, for as long as you both shall live?"

Naruto nodded, firmly, his blue eyes sparkling with determination and watering with tears. "Yes, I do."

Chokichi smiled and turned to Hinata. "Do you, Hinata, take Naruto, to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do you part, for as long as you both shall live?"

Hinata nodded, her eyes filled with tears, but like Naruto, alive with determination. "Yes, I do."

Chokichi turned a page in his book. "The wedding ring is a symbol of your union. Today, take these rings as confirmation of your vows to join your lives together and a sign of your love. The rings, please?"

Yoshito muttered, "Kai" under his breath, came up to Sasuke and gave him the ring on his pillow. Then, as he was instructed, he walked past the couple and gave Hanabi the other ring. Sasuke gave Naruto his, which Naruto got ready to place on Hinata's finger.

"Naruto, take the ring and repeat after me, 'With this ring, I wed thee,"

"With this ring, I wed thee," repeated Naruto. His eyes were unfocused, as he stared at the ring. Hinata realized he was getting emotional over this.

Chokichi continued and Naruto repeated every word, "With all that I am and all that I have. Let this ring be a symbol of my love, of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you and join my life to yours." Then Naruto slid the wedding band, a flat band of gold and silver intertwined with each other, onto Hinata's finger.

Chokichi switched to Hinata. Hanabi, recognizing her cue, gave her ring to Hinata, exchanging with the bouquet, which she ready to put onto Naruto's finger. "Hinata," started Chokichi, "repeat after me...'With this ring, I wed thee...'"

"With this ring, I - I wed thee," repeated Hinata, her eyes still watering, stumbling only slightly. She felt like she was about to explode with happiness, like her anxiety to do this in front of complete strangers had not existed.

"With all that I am and all that I have. Let this ring be a symbol of my love, of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you and join my life to yours," Chokichi repeated the vow to which Hinata copied each word, only stuttering over a few words, and slid the gold and silver intertwined band onto Naruto's finger.

The audience clapped again, startling both Naruto and Hinata out of their shared moment. They looked out, noticing some of the nobles' wives were wiping their eyes. But they were not the only ones: some of their female friends as well as some villagers hid behind tissue or handkerchiefs. Matsuri, tears strung down her face, had turned to Gaara as if she were reminded of their own. _It's natural to cry at a wedding..._ thought Hinata, having done so herself at her friends' before.

Chokichi turned another page in his book. "By the power vested in me by Tsunade-sama and the Lord of the Land of Fire, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The couple turned back to Chokichi as he smiled once more. "You may now kiss the bride."

Naruto grinned and slowly lifted the veil from her face. They came together, lips touching as Chokichi concluded the ceremony, "I present to you, Uzumaki Naruto and Hinata!"

_oOo_oOo_

Naruto and his wedding party were gathered behind a curtain, the reception already underway from the sounds of it. Shizune had told them to wait here for Tsunade to come and speak with them, through Naruto had no idea why the Hokage would feel the need to do so. However, the other option was to ignore orders and mingle with a bunch of people he never wanted to invite in the first place. He could handle a wedding in front of people he never heard of before; mainly because he was not forced to talk to anyone. A reception meant he had to talk to the nobles. Two completely different situations so Tsunade could take as long as she wanted as far as he was concerned.

Unfortunately, Tsunade, in a light green gown, materialized not long after Shizune left for the reception. She stood in front of the curtain with a stern look on her face. "All right, now I know none of you are pretty happy about this..." She glanced around at the unhappy faces, mostly from the men. Sasuke was twitching, Shikamaru likely thinking this was all far too much trouble than it was worth, Neji annoyed and Naruto felt very uncomfortable. Sai was the only not looking negative; instead, he just looked bored. The woman all looked nervous about the reception beyond the curtain.

"However, this is something you're going to have to deal with. Sai..." The former Root member glanced up, his strange smile lit up his face. "Do you remember the talk we had earlier in the week?"

He nodded. "Yes, Tsunade-sama. There are things I cannot say to any of our guests. I cannot give anyone a nickname, nor can I say anything else you listed would be considered inappropriate."

"Don't worry, Godaime-sama," said Ino, trying to straighten out her dress. "I'll be with him the entire time. He won't be out of my sight."

"Good." She quickly gazed around the room. "As for the rest of you, keep your tempers down and be on your best behavior. I don't want to have to deal with an incident with any of the Land of Fire's nobles. The ninja are okay as they're used to our behavior, but the nobles aren't so to be safe, just be polite and vent later." Then she stared pointedly at Sasuke. "And as for you, Sasuke. No killing anyone, are we clear?"

Naruto almost laughed and had to hold it in as Sasuke scowled at the Hokage. "And why exactly is that directed at me?" he asked, his voice low in anger. Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder as if the action would soothe him. "You think I'm going to lose it?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but did not look amused at all. "Not at all. I just figured that if your temperament is anything like mine toward these noble jerks, you'll likely be restraining yourself to hurt someone like I'm doing. I just thought I would make it clear."

Sasuke's face went blank, but then he smirked, the idea that he and Tsunade were alike in their temperament fascinating him. "...Right...no killing anyone," he said, finally.

Tsunade nodded curtly. "Good." She turned around and opened the curtain. "Now..." she started, her voice a whisper now, "let's get this over with."

_oOo_oOo_

"And I thought the Hyuuga reception was dull," moaned Naruto.

Beside him, Hinata patted his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Naruto-kun. If we can make it through that one, we can make it through this."

He sighed, but smiled and leaned on her, hugging her. The reception resembled the one Gaara and Matsuri had back when they got married, but it had not seemed boring then. _I guess it's different when you're the groom instead of someone else..._

Naruto and Hinata had opted to stay by the main table after the banquet instead of mingling with the guests, letting the nobles come to them instead. The lords and ladies that come up to converse with them never stayed long, usually enough to have their picture taken by a photographer and then they excused themselves quickly. For awhile, Naruto wondered why that was, especially since Tsunade had said they were all eager to be 'connected' to him and Hinata.

Then it dawned on him that Kakashi was the reason the nobles never stayed very long.

The silver haired one-eyed jounin looked up from wherever he was looking at as he felt Naruto's eyes on him. "Hmm? What is it, Naruto?"

The blond frowned, uncertain of what to make of his teacher. At first, Naruto had barely noticed Kakashi's presence nearby; after all, there was no need to pay attention to what he was doing during a reception. Once he figured out his sensei had chosen to sit not far down from the place he and Hinata sat, he still barely thought much of it. He had figured the other had also wanted to keep away from the nobles.

It was only after the Lord of the Land of Fire and his wife had briefly spoken to him and Hinata, gotten their photo with them and excused themselves in an odd mixture of cheerfulness and nervousness that Naruto realized his sensei was chasing the nobles off.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei?" questioned Hinata before Naruto could speak. She quickly glanced around as if to make sure no one was around to overhear. "I think we're wondering why your presence is scaring the nobles."

At first, Naruto wondered if they were going to get an answer out of him since he stared blankly in their direction as if he had no idea what they were talking. Then he chuckled, closed his book and moved himself and his chair to better face them. "So you were wondering about that, huh?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, somewhat taken aback that his teacher had admitted it. He shifted in his seat to face Kakashi while Hinata moved hers so the two could actually confront each other. Naruto was not unhappy with what Kakashi was doing because the last thing he wanted was to spend more time with nobles, but his curiosity had gotten to him. "Yeah, I was wondering about that." He looked around the reception, seeing all sorts of officials mingling with Shinobi they rarely got to meet. "Old Lady Tsunade said these people would want to meet with me. It seems weird that they would be scared off by you. I don't get it."

Kakashi nodded. "You're right. That's why they wanted this in the first place, but Godaime-sama didn't want them saying anything unfortunate to you so she assigned me to sit next to you so that does not happen."

"Huh?" He blinked, confused at the explanation. _Say something unfortunate?_ "What are you talking about? What would the nobles say to me?"

Suddenly looking thoughtful, Hinata gazed downward with her hand on her lip. Kakashi sighed, ruffling the back of his head, as if this conversation was not going to end well. "Well...Naruto...it's just...the nobles are prone to saying things. They're willing to say anything if it means earning your trust."

"My Father warned me about that once," muttered Hinata. "When I started entering the political field more, he said that was one of the first things I should know and to disbelieve no matter what."

A sick feeling was starting to settle in Naruto's stomach, not liking the sound of that at all. He only had a little knowledge of politics, but the Land of Fire's court sounded nothing like the Hyuuga elders. All this time, he saw them as pompous elites who ruled over the rest of the country, but otherwise, did little harm. Now they were starting to sound like manipulative and shifty people who would do anything for power.

"Of course, not all the lords are bad people, Naruto," said Kakashi, quickly, who must have noted the expression on his face. "They're not trying to be cruel. Take the Lord of Fire, for example. He's a decent man who knows how things work. Some just feel like the only way to maintain a, well, 'friendly' relationship with people is to lie to them."

Naruto grimaced. "That doesn't sound like a good explanation, Kakashi-sensei."

"I'm not saying it is," responded Kakashi, shrugging his shoulders. "But it's the mindset of people who mingle within the court. Those who don't agree with it just ignore it and find other ways to create the relationships they need, but that's mostly those who don't live within the capital."

For a few minutes, the only sounds were of the reception guests speaking. Naruto still hated the situation Kakashi elaborated on, but again, politics was far too complicated for him sometimes. "What..." he started, almost afraid to ask about it, "...would they have told me?"

Kakashi hesitated, almost causing Naruto to half take back his question. "Godaime-sama and I were worried that someone would have mentioned how the Third talked about you to them on occasion."

Naruto blinked and Hinata immediately went for his hand, squeezing it in an attempt to reassure him. He was not sure what to think. He had been very close to Sarutobi, growing up, and his death still hurt at times. Despite Kakashi's reassurance that some of the nobles were well-meaning in creating these relationships, he was grateful he would not have to face that.

He felt a lump in his throat. He squeezed Hinata's hand to calm himself down. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei," he said, struggling to keep his voice even.

His teacher gave him that eye-smile of his and went back to reading his book.

Though," grumbled Naruto, leaning back in his chair, "this really makes me loathe politics more. I wish I didn't have to deal with them."

"You could send someone else to deal with them for you."

Naruto shot up, a huge grin on his face. He was not sure if a Kage counted as a politician, but if they did, there were the only ones he would like...and his favorite was right in front of him. "Gaara!"

The red-haired Kazekage was dressed in a black tuxedo, through he looked sorely uneasy in it. A smiling Matsuri, wearing a light green sleeveless dress with a short scarf around her neck, reached out, taking Hinata's hand. "Congratulations!" she said. "Through, I guess I should hold that until the other ceremony next week?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, that's all right. We're okay with it. Thank you, Matsuri-san and Kazekage-sama, for coming."

"Where's Kankuro and Temari?" asked Naruto, looking around for Gaara's older siblings. He had not seen them around in a bit, but he had last seen them in Gaara's presence.

"I'm not sure where Kankuro is," responded Gaara. "Temari went to find Nara Shikamaru. I'm not sure where they went."

"Ah." Well, that answered that, feeling sure they would find Temari and Shikamaru sooner or later. "So what's this about sending someone else?" asked Naruto. He was intrigued by that piece of info. "You mean I could send another person to deal with the nobles if I wanted to?"

The former container of the Shukaku nodded, his face barely betraying any emotion. "Yes. The court in the Land of Wind are not very fond of me. In order to make things go as smoothly as possible, I send Baki or someone else to speak with the Damiyo."

Naruto could not help but frown at hearing his friend was not accepted by the leader of the country. "But is that okay? I mean..." he stumbled, not wanting to make Gaara uncomfortable. Acceptance among people was an issue they both valued a great deal. "Sending someone else to do your job...is that allowed?"

Gaara shook his head. "No, it's not a problem. I am not very skilled with people and nobles are very...difficult people to begin with. It simplifies things." He turned away, apparently interested in the flower on the table. "It doesn't bother me. The Damiyo believes I'm very capable as Kazekage and that is enough for me." He turned back, resting his eyes upon Naruto, smiling warmly back at him. "That sounds fine to me, doesn't it, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yeah..." Then Naruto grinned, putting his hands behind his head. "Heh! I guess this means I can send Sasuke to deal with these guys!"

"You will not!" growled Sasuke. He appeared behind Gaara, his body language screaming that he wanted out of the reception before he cracked. Sakura stood at his side, quite tired as if they had been jumping around for awhile. "You do that and you'll find yourself out of a job in a month."

Hinata giggled as Naruto sputtered in denial, saying he was just joking as usual. Sasuke remained fixed in his glare at his other teammate as if he did not believe him at all. Kakashi glanced up from his book, his one visible eye shining in amusement. "So..." he said, in an attempt to break up the argument before it even got started, "what brings the two of you here?"

Sasuke muttered under his breath while Sakura sighed. "Escaping from the Damiyo of Fire and Shimiji-sama. They just kept going on and on." She massaged her forehead as if to stall a headache. "We just had enough so we excused ourselves."

"We met her," mentioned Matsuri, gazing around the crowd in search of the black haired woman. "She seemed nice. She kept mentioning her cat, Tora."

The entire group, at least those from Konoha, shivered. They remembered that cat; Naruto still felt the scratches on his face. Gaara and Matsuri just stared blankly at them. "I take it the cat is a cause for concern?" asked Gaara.

Naruto nodded viciously. "That cat is a nightmare."

"He would escape a lot," said Hinata, absentmindedly brushing her hair. "And Shimiji-sama would hire a genin team to find him."

"I see."

Sakura fiddled with her gloves as if nervous over something. "She told us that she would have loved to have brought Tora with her! Her head of house talked her out of it, thankfully."

The image of the reception in ruins after Tora escaped from Shimiji's grasp filled Naruto's mind and another shiver ran through the Konoha group, even Kakashi looked shocked with the knowledge that they have been so close to seeing Tora again. The same thought ran through their minds.

Tora here would be complete anarchy.

Naruto had to sit down. He felt like he had enough shock for the rest of his life.

"That sounds like a very difficult cat," said Matsuri, alarmed. "I feel sorry for you guys having to deal him."

"Tell us about it," muttered Sasuke. "And speaking of..." He returned to glaring at Naruto. "You're not going to send me to deal with nobles."

Naruto looked up. He had thought that issue was over with already. "Aw come on, Sasuke! I was joking with you. You really think I would send you to deal with people like this?"

"Yes," he growled. "I don't trust you, especially if you're joking."

Hinata giggled again as Naruto laughed. To him, this was really what the reception should have been about: bonding with his friends, whether they are close or far away, and with Hinata. And as he continued to banter with Sasuke over the nobles with Sakura and Kakashi attempting to calm them down, he drew Hinata close to him, ready to deal with the reminder of the time.

Because he could handle anything with those people close to him nearby.

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata knew it was a tiring day when both she and Naruto collapsed into his couch with their wedding clothes still on. Hinata had taken her hair down before leaving the reception, through, so her bluish locks were bunch up together in between her head, Naruto's and a cushion.

"Well..." said Naruto, breaking the silence, "that went well."

Hinata would have laughed if she had the energy. "Hokage-sama believes it did."

Tsunade had come up to them after all the nobles had left. She had said that everyone she had talked to had expressed nothing but good things about the entire event. When Naruto had asked what that meant, she explained the nobles were satisfied and that was all they needed to worry about.

Once that was said, Shizune promptly collapsed into a couch herself, claiming not to be needed until July.

Hinata was glad everything had gone well. As stressful as it all had been, she had never been happier standing on the altar, saying those words she had seen others say, words she had wondered when she would say.

"It felt like a dream, didn't it?" she asked, grasping Naruto's hand, holding it tight.

"Yeah, it did." He had a goofy grin on his face as if he were reimagining the day second by second. "I don't know whether to be glad it happened or not. Reception, definitely not. Wedding, yeah, not sure about."

Hinata giggled, faintly. That was quite the understatement. "Agreed. I guess we can't pick and choose what we want from the day."

"Sure we can!" His eyes were closed and he caressed her hand. "Just ignore the nobles were there, forget the reception and just reimage the event from when you walked down the aisle to when we kissed..."

They both began blushing badly. She almost forgot that she had kissed Naruto in front of everyone. "I'm surprised I didn't faint..." she whispered. It had been ages since she last fainted, through, so perhaps it was not a complete shock. However, she was still a private person and kissing in front of people was not private...at all.

Naruto shifted in his seat, still grinning widely, hints of red still remaining on his cheeks. "Yeah, well, I guess it's hard to forget that."

"Still..." muttered Hinata, trying to shake off the last ounces of embarrassment, "it was lovely. I wouldn't mind it if we had to do it all over again."

She looked up into Naruto's eyes, the blue irises gazing happily down at her. "Yeah, me too." Then he turned to the clock, watching the hands tick away. "So...one hour, right?"

Sitting up, Hinata nodded. "That's what Father said."

"What shall we do in that one hour that Hiashi won't skin me alive for?"

The two of them laughed, tried to find a more comfortable position so the few moments they had left of their second wedding day would be spent in a state between bliss and what Hiashi considered safe until the next week passed.

Because they had finished what they were required to do; the Hyuuga wedding, the Konoha wedding, both were done and they were free, free to do what they had wanted to do since they got engaged.

Marry each other in a wedding all their own.

* * *

Isn't Yoshito adorable? XD I imagine him as a quiet, observant boy who is rather open about the things he witnesses. Clearly shown in the case of Ino. And I know Kishimoto said in the databook that he was thinking of making Kurenai's baby a girl, I discovered that when I was looking stuff up after I created Yoshito! *sighs*

Kiyori's father is older than Neji, about five years. I figured someone had to help Neji and his mother after his father's death and while the parents helped his mother, their child would attend to Neji. Didn't work, obviously, but what matters is effort, right? And yes, Hinata's thoughts on Kiyori are correct. Itoki, of course, is unaware of the divide among the clan, but knows to respect Hiashi, however, she's still a child.

Well, enough chatter on my OCs. The reception part about Naruto and the nobles, I had actually had that scene worked out in my mind, but thought it was too much. It didn't feel right so I changed it to Tsunade arranging Kakashi to be near Naruto so the nobles wouldn't want to talk about it. Not that the two don't trust Naruto, but he still knows little about politics and they know how he reacts when people talk about his precious people, Sarutobi being one of them. Gaara and Sasuke's scenes happen just like I imagined except for the Tora part, that was with the noble scene and thought it was too funny to throw out!

Longest end note to a chapter ever!

Final wedding coming up and Naruto and Hinata are going to love this one! It's their wedding! But wait…will it all go well? :( Everything's gone so well already! Will their luck run out on their dream wedding? No!

Thanks for reading! – NessaMoon


	7. Final Ceremony: A Small & Quiet Wedding

Finally! This fanfic is almost done! Naruto and Hinata's dream wedding is here! Will it all work out? Oh, wait, they have wedding vows to write, don't they? Let's see how that is working out, shall we?

As for me, I'm going to play copy ninja and act like Shizune! Rest and relaxation, here I come! *half wishes her vacation had occurred later instead of last week*

**Title:** Complicated Ceremonies  
**Genre: **Drama/Comedy  
**Timeline:** Post Manga  
**Summary:** All Naruto and Hinata want is a small, quiet wedding, but the Hyuuga and Tsunade have their own plans. Now Naruto wants to elope, Hinata fears for his life and Ino is more than thrilled at the business her shop will get!  
**Pairings:** NaruHina (mentions of SasuSaku, NejiTen, SaiIno, ShikaTema and GaaMatsu)  
**Rating:** G  
**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. I don't own one little bit of it.  
**Author's Notes:** Entry for a contest. Shockingly enough.

* * *

**Final Ceremony: A Small & Quiet Wedding**

Naruto sighed and leaned on his knees. He sat outside, in the balcony outside his bedroom, leaning against the door. A few of his flowerpots sat out there. He shifted one of them around as he tried to think of something, anything. A notepad lay in front of him, with a pencil on top, but nothing written on the paper.

_I knew this was too hard. How am I supposed to come up with wedding vows?_ He groaned, burying his head more into his legs. _I'm so bad with words I'm surprised Hinata likes me..._

It had been a few days since the Konoha wedding. He and Hinata had taken those few days to rest before getting back into planning their private ceremony, through not much remained. Talking to Chokichi over some left over details and writing their vows remained the only things left.

The end of the two ceremonies meant Naruto had time, not to mention less stress, to think about the vows he and Hinata would exchange at their wedding. The only problem was that Naruto still could not think of anything to say. He cared for her greatly, loved her with everything he had, but trying to put that in words...for a wedding vow...he found himself inept at it.

He leaned against the door. "How exactly do you put love in words? You can't! It's pure emotion," he complained to himself, with only his flowers to listen to him. "It's not like anything else! It's...it's love!" He nudged his notepad a little with his feet, still nothing on his mind.

"Maybe we should just have regular wedding vows?" He stretched out his feet, careful not to rip the paper on his notepad. He pulled one of his flowerpots into his lap and stared at the orange and purple petunias that had popped up from the seeds he had planted last year. "I mean, no one's going to get upset because I couldn't think of anything to say, right?"

Feeling upset, despite the words to reassure himself it would be fine, he rubbed the side of his forehead. He knew Hinata would know what to say. She always knew what to say. It was just that, in the past, she often did not have the courage to say it. That changed, but it was still somewhat true. And himself?

"I just talk, but I never know what to say," he said to himself, miserably. "I just keep talking without thinking even if what I'm saying is nothing but nonsense. Me and Hinata, we're different like that; she knows what to say, but can't say it sometimes, while I just talk without knowing what I'm saying."

He touched one of the purple flowers. It reminded him of Hinata now, since she always wore purple. There were some orange blossoms as well connected to the purple ones via the stems. Orange never used to be a color for petunias until recently and he had been lucky that Ino had been generous enough to share some seeds the Yamanaka flower managed to purchase. He never missed a chance to add orange flowers to his garden and with the colorful petunias; it made his garden more colorful with less effort. In fact, he rather liked that petunias were so colorful, yet shared the same roots with the other blossoms.

For a few seconds, Naruto stared at the flowers as thoughts flowed through his mind. And then he took a deep breath, shocked and staring at the orange and purple flowers as if he had never seen them before in such a way. The same type...but colored differently...? _That's like...Hinata and me? We are the same type! We share the same nindo, we're both extremely determined, we both work hard. Just because we're different on the surface and in personality...that doesn't mean we aren't the same on the inside..._

He knew this before, but it never seemed to be this clear. It just seemed so much clearer than it ever had before.

Then he grinned. He knew what his vow to Hinata would be.

Settling the flowerpot to the side, he picked up the notepad and started to write. He figured it would be cheesy and everyone else might laugh at him for it, but he did not care. Besides, he could always play a prank on anyone who did later on.

He was going to voice his love for Hinata to everyone and he had to say it in his own words.

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata walked into the park, where she and Naruto had planned to meet and discuss the vows they had written for their private ceremony. The last time she had seen him, he had been excited and happy, mentioning he could not wait to show her what he had written. A part of her had been delighted to see him like that. Naruto had been especially worried over writing their own vows, but he had overcome what he considered his weak spot in the end and Hinata could not be happier for him.

However, another part of her had dreaded to let Naruto see what she had written.

She sighed, clutching her notepad closer to her chest, her anxiety causing her to feel sick to her stomach. _I hope Naruto-kun doesn't hate what I wrote,_ she thought. That was her fear now and it was distressing her so badly, even Hiashi and Hanabi had been concerned about her before she had left to meet with Naruto.

It was not that she thought her vow was horrible; she had an easy time writing it, the words just flowed from her mind to the paper. After she had finished, she realized what she had written and realized the dilemma. Really, only a small portion of her vow was problematic. The first few sentences were fine. The last ones, however... She felt the words were very heartfelt, but...would Naruto think the same?

Especially considering she had spoken to him using these same words once before...

She had tried to rewrite, find other ways to say her vow and even tried to think of new things to say, but she never felt satisfied with the results. In the end, everything she wrote never measured up. Despite her discomfort over what she wrote first, those words felt more sincere than anything else.

And she felt trapped with it, loving what she had wrote, but worried it would upset or anger Naruto, which was the last thing she wanted. Her vow should not upset him.

_I almost wish I could back out..._ Then, she stopped, her white eyes wide as she realized what she was thinking, quickly shook her head. _No, no. I can't back down. I can't!_

She approached the bench where Naruto sat waiting for her, his bright blond hair a beacon to her even on the sunniest day. He was watching a bunch of kids playing around, grinning as they asked if he wanted to play as well. Pushing a lock of her bluish hair back, she could not help but smile as he declined, saying he was waiting for someone.

"Hinata!" called Naruto. His face was lit up in a large grin and he bounced off the bench waving at her, excitedly. She laughed, feeling his exhilaration sink into her, driving away the tension she felt over her vow. Most people thought he got wound up over just about everything, but Hinata knew when he got genuinely excited. The times when his blue eyes sparkled, his smile lit up his entire face and he could hardly sit still, instead he moved around, usually around the subject he was energized over; those were the signs Naruto truly embodied excitement

And given his state now, had she not already known, Hinata would have no trouble whatsoever knowing he had succeeded at writing his own vow.

Remembering what they were here for, she tried to keep her smile up. Thinking of her own vow made the stress return in full force.

They sat down; Hinata nervously straightened her purple jacket while Naruto looked through his pack for his notepad. "I hope you like it, Hinata," he said as he brought the notepad out. "It took a few hours to get it. I thought I was going to show up empty handed when bam!" He grinned as he jumped in his seat, one hand a fist as he reached into the air. "It just came to me like that! I think you'll understand when you see it."

Hinata smiled at him, blinking more than usual, her anxiety overriding even his excitement that normally would motivate her as well. She was deeply afraid he would hate her vow or be upset. "That's...great, Naruto-kun..."

The notepad outstretched in his hand, he lowered it as he frowned, gazing at her worriedly. "Hinata?" he asked, as he touched her shoulder, "Are you all right?"

She bit her lip, unable to look at him. Instead, she shifted around in her seat, her eyes closed. "I'm...Naruto-kun..." He squeezed her shoulder tighter as she continued on, stuttering until finally, she sighed and clutched her notepad even more. "Naruto-kun...I've just been worried..."

He tilted his head to the side, his face not changing. "Worried? About what? The vows?"

She nodded. "I...was having trouble..." She kept shifting around, still not looking directly at him. "And I don't think you'll like what I wrote..." she muttered, softly, barely a whisper.

But he heard her as he came in closer, his arm finding its way around her neck. "You know," he stared, his voice soft as he leaned against her, comforting her, "I always thought you knew exactly what to say..."

Hinata felt her cheeks grow hot. How could he believe that? She looked up at him, finally. Naruto was gazing upward to the sky, a small smile on his face.

"I'm not going to hate your vow, Hinata," he said, holding her closer, her head leaning against his shoulder and she felt her nerves start to die down. "I could never hate anything you write. I'm sure it's great. You're better at this stuff than I am."

"Umm..." He glanced down at her, still smiling as if to keep reassuring her. She wanted nothing more than to believe him right now. "Are you really sure about that, Naruto-kun? Even if it's something upsetting or makes you remember something horrible?"

He come across as confused at that, but kept smiling as if nothing would deter him. "Of course! And besides," he added, his expression serious, "I wouldn't get angry at you for it. If I see something I don't like, I'll tell you. We'll go over it together and find something else that'll work, right? It's not that big of a deal, Hinata. Other people have had a little trouble over writing their vows, right?"

And just like that, the pressure vanished. She still felt some uneasiness over letting him see what she wrote, but it no longer distressed her. As she gazed upon his smiling face, just like always, he helped her, removing her doubt, causing her to believe in herself again, even over a small thing like thinking Naruto disliking her wedding vow. _I was so worried,_ she thought, as she looked over what she had written. _I was so worried over what I had written; I forgot Naruto-kun would never get upset over something like this...especially since..._

She shook her head; instead, she returned his smile, making it as bright as his. "Thank you, Naruto-kun." She ran her hand over her notepad. "I guess I was so wrapped in worrying, I just wasn't thinking."

He shrugged his shoulder. "It's nothing. I felt the same when I was writing mine. I thought I wasn't going to have anything today." He laughed, stretching one arm up in the air and bringing it down over her shoulder. "I almost gave up," he admitted, which caused her to glance at him, surprised. "Almost, but then it came to me. I think you'll know what inspired me right away. It's nothing to worry about, Hinata. Really, it isn't."

Hinata nodded. "You're right." Feeling far more comfortable than she had been before, they traded notepads. She looked over what Naruto had written, her smiling growing as she finished each line. Naruto had mentioned he was not sure if he could have written a vow and even said he had trouble with it, but what she read...she loved it! _Naruto-kun..._ She felt her eyes watering and quickly wiped them away. She spotted his inspiration at once and loved how he had compared the two of them with it. She knew exactly what he meant, too.

_We really are two of a kind, Naruto-kun and I. Different yet so alike, but we wouldn't have it any other way and that's why we love each other, why we're drawn to each other._ She guessed if she was tearing up now, she would certainly cry when Naruto read it during their ceremony.

"That was wonderful, Naruto-kun," she said, her voice trembling due to holding back her tears. "That - that really... I love it, I don't think anything nee - " She looked up at him right then and, as quickly has it had disappeared, her concerns over her vow came back full force.

Naruto stared at her notepad, his eyes wide, a visible lump in his throat as if he were holding back from breaking down. He barely moved when she started talking as if the words had so enthralled him, he had forgotten she was there. "Naruto-kun!"

He startled at her shout, but not much. He slowly turned toward her, his face frozen in place. She whipped away her notepad, sputtering an apology, "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun! I'm sorry! I didn't...I didn't...I mean I...Oh..." Hinata trailed off, caught up in his sudden movement. He had wrapped his arms around her as she talked, holding her tightly, and rubbing his face into her hair. "Naruto-kun..." she muttered, closing her eyes, returning his embrace.

"It's perfect."

She blinked, uncertain about what he said. "What...?"

"It's perfect," he said, his voice trembling. "There's nothing wrong with it. It doesn't need improving. It's perfect just the way it is."

Perfect? Hinata shook her head. If her vow had been perfect, then Naruto would not have nearly fallen apart at reading it. Reluctantly, she pushed herself away, tears running down her cheek. "That's not true," she said, shaking her head. "You're upset! It's because...because I..." She squeezed her hands together, causing the paper in her notepad to rumple. "It's because of that day...I repeated what I said..."

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes. "And that's why it's perfect."

Now she was perplexed. What had happened that day did not disturb her or caused great emotional stress. She and Naruto had talked about it many times before, however, when she realized what she wrote had been said on that day, it caused her to panic. They had both been emotional over those events, but was it right to bring it into their wedding? Even though it was only a tiny bit of what was said that day... When Naruto had felt so... To Hinata, it felt wrong so she got worried over his reaction.

But now he was telling her it was perfect, nothing was wrong with it, her vow no longer needs improving. _But then why...why was he..._

Naruto carefully pried the notepad out of her hands, smoothing out the wrinkles from where she had grasped it so hard. "What happened that day, Hinata," he said softly, "I value what you said then. It's not what happened before or after; yeah, I get upset when I think about that, but what you said, I could never forget, wouldn't want to." He bit his lip, ruffling his spiky hair and took a deep breath. "I'm going to get...sad..." he said, forcing the word out as if it caused him pain, "because it does remind me, but if I wanted to forget that day so badly..." He grinned and pulled her next to him even though she felt very reluctant to let him. "If I wanted to forget, there's so much that would be different today. If I wanted to forget, I wouldn't be here next to you right now."

Hinata felt like choking, she was struggling so much not to cry. She buried her face into Naruto's orange jacket. She wanted to shout she was sorry, but she knew what he would say; he would reassure her it was all right, just like before. "Is it okay, Naruto-kun?" she muttered, her voice muffled due to his jacket. "Is it really good enough?"

But he heard her as his grip around her body felt tighter and he nodded. "Of course. I told you. It's perfect."

After a few moments, they let each other go, positive that they would no longer fall apart emotionally. They wiped their faces with the sleeves of their jackets before turning toward each other, him grinning widely and her smiling softly. "You okay now, Hinata?" he asked, holding out her notepad.

Nodding, she took it, no longer nervous over its contents. That had all been drained away. "Yes..." she said and she really meant it this time, "I'm fine with it. Everything on here, it brought us together." She gazed upon the words; from the first few that she had been truly fine with to the last ones that caused her so much fear. "I guess the reason why I ended up choosing this is because I know those words came from my heart." Feeling her face grow hot from blushing and shifting in her seat, she peeked at him, finding he was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly red. "And I only want to say what's in my heart, right?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that's what we both want." He picked his notepad, glancing at it and then at hers. A sly smile started growing on his face. "You know..." he started, tapping the paper a few times, his tone of voice playful and blue eyes sparkling in amusement, "I don't think it is 'perfect.' I think they're both missing something."

At first bemused, Hinata was not sure what he was getting at. She knew he was just playing around with her and did not take it personally. Glancing at both vows, she compared them, trying to figure out what could possibly be missing from the two. The vows reflected their owners perfectly. _What does Naruto-kun think is missing? From both of our vows?_

Then it came to her. Of course, that had to be it. And it would fit Naruto's vow rather well, actually. A smile gracing her face, she giggled. "You're right. It's missing something."

Digging into his pack for two pencils, he gave one to Hinata and they started making some final adjustments to their vows.

About an hour later, they left the bench, intent on getting some ramen to celebrate their finished work. Brushing aside her hair, Hinata looked at her notepad with a fair amount of joy and happiness. "It's definitely better now."

Naruto put his hands behind his head and laughed. "Yep, it's perfect. It's just like us." He chuckled as if amused over something. "Everyone's going to think mine is cheesy. I just know they're going to."

"I don't think it is." She sighed thoughtfully, remembering every word on the paper. "I thought it was very touching, Naruto-kun."

He brought down his hands, smiling at her, threading one arm into hers. "Thanks, Hinata, but they're still going to think that. Anyway, it doesn't matter! I'll just prank anyone who laughs!"

The two of them buckled over in laughter. That was exactly what Naruto would do, in Hinata's opinion. Not caring over what others thought, plowing ahead, and dragging everyone along for the ride. And if they did not like it, well, he teased them over it if the subject matter was trivial in nature.

"It's really going to happen now, isn't it, Hinata?" said Naruto after their laughter had subsided. "Everything's done now. All the planning, our vows, they're finished. In a couple of days...our wedding..." He looked incredibly excited over it.

Hinata nodded, feeling the same thrill bubbling in her stomach. "Yes. It's really going to happen this time. I can't wait!"

He turned to her, grinning widely. "I can't, either."

They continued walking toward Ichiraku, hand in hand, their last days of being apart that would fly past until the ceremony that would bond them together for the rest of their lives would arrive. Naruto and Hinata had endured the seemingly endless strain of planning for three weddings. Now two were finished, and while they had enjoyed those for what they were, the upcoming ceremony was what they had wanted the most.

After all they had endured, unexpected weddings and even the various events in their lives, they knew it would be fine. After all, in a couple of days, they would be together and have each other. Naruto and Hinata had not gone back on their word yet and they would not start now.

_oOo_oOo_

The day of her wedding, Hinata had woken up early, feeling a mix of apprehension and exhilaration. With the sun only barely peeking over the horizon, she had pressed some flowers to calm herself and now, with the hour approaching when Hanabi would come get her, she got dressed into her normal purple jacket and blue pants and brought out her wedding kimono and dress she would use for the day.

The materials on the bed, she carefully put them back, cataloguing each item to make sure none were lost. Her purple uchikake with designs of turtles and bamboo embroidered with gold, blue and silver threads and the matching kimono was in the box to be carried. She placed the plain silver obi inside and settled the zori sandals right on top.

Lady Orika's wedding dress had been chosen for the wedding reception so it was packed and ready to be taken along. Hinata looked over her vow once more, trying to memorize it once more as she wanted to recite it from memory. It would be a lot easier than carrying a piece of paper she may drop and lose.

Hinata glanced around her room one last time. _Now, Ino-san has my hair ornaments, Sakura-san is bringing my make-up and Tenten and Hanabi are helping me carry everything...did I forget anything?_

Biting her lip, she suddenly felt nervous, but over what she could not figure out.

"Hinata-neesan!" called out Hanabi, tapping slightly on her door.

Her sister's arrival brought her out of her reflections and her mind switched to making sure her clothes were prepared to take away, instead of her anxiety. "Coming!" she responded, heading to the door. Hinata's previous thoughts were in the back of their mind as the sisters friendly chatted with each other. It was not long after they started to get ready they were joined Tenten.

The wedding day had officially started.

_oOo_oOo_

"Last one," said Naruto, placing the last cord into the bag. He had woken up early, feeling both eager and jumpy for the day, so he had ate some ramen, gotten dressed into his orange jumpsuit and tried to locate everything he needed.

For the reception, Lady Orika's tuxedo and haori had already been put into its bag to be carried off. His actual wedding ensemble, however, had to be tracked down as he had spent much time admiring the garments once he received it.

After all the black and white he had to endure, he felt admiring a nice shade of orange was just what he needed!

He folded his orange kimono with blue trim, adorned with Uzumaki clan symbols on the back and front, and placed it neatly into the bag, right on top of the black hakama pants and black cords. After having plucked the blue sashes from his bed, he looked around for the blue trimmed, orange haori, again with the clan symbol in the right places, finding it right where he had left it: hung up behind the door.

The haori carefully placed into his bag, he zipped it up, put it on top of the tuxedo one and picked both up to carry out.

_This is it! No turning back!_ Naruto grinned, excited though anxiety churned his stomach. "I don't know what I'm so worried about," he said, walking out the door. "Everything's going to be fine."

He closed the door, locking it and putting the keys away in his pocket. And then he made his way to exit his apartment complex. Naruto met Sasuke and the others as they were coming up. Upon seeing their slightly surprised faces, he grinned and held up his hand to greet them. "Hey! What's up?"

Sasuke 'hned' in response as he and the others started to turn around. "You sleep late on the first day," he said as Naruto joined them on the trek downward. "You disappear on the second and now you have the nerve to wake up and be ready on time? Typical."

Naruto just laughed as the conversation started to go into more pointed commentary over his timing, but he cared little over his friends' poking fun at him now.

After all, his wedding was going to be held today. With the risen sun barely making any headway into the sky, the morning had only just begun. The day he had been waiting for had come and it would be outstanding from beginning to end.

_oOo_oOo_

Hinata had not felt very anxious when she woke up that morning. Sure, she felt some amount of strain over her wedding day, but she had also been energized and that had covered up any amount of worrying she could have done in the meantime.

Now, however, as she stood in a plain under kimono, slipping on her purple wedding one, her enthusiasm left, only leaving her stress to play on her fears. Her mind raced with the possibility that something would go wrong.

_Everything else has gone so well; nothing went wrong at the traditional wedding or the Konoha one,_ she thought as she held the kimono, the left fold over the right, Tenten helping her keep it in place until Ino finished with the cords and obi. _But what if that was a coincidence?_ She bit her lip, seeing her reflection's face cloud with uncertainty. _What if something goes wrong here?_

The last thing she wanted was for something to go wrong. After having worked so hard to make all the plans work, to have their dream wedding, the small and quiet one they had truly wanted to have, fall apart...the mere thought made Hinata feel sick to her stomach.

"All right, Hinata," chimed Ino, backing away, making some final touches to the sash. "The obi is done, now for the uchikake..." she trailed off, her smile fading as she caught Hinata's distressed expression in the mirror. "Hinata? Is something wrong?"

Tenten, adjusting the bottom of the kimono, glanced up, inquisitively. Over at the dresser, Sakura put down the uchikake she had just picked up to bring over while Hanabi rushed over. All the girls stared concerned at Hinata as she squirmed, under their gaze. _Was I that obvious?_ _I'm going to have to tell them now._ However, she did not feel like talking, her confidence having left her.

"Hinata-neesan?" questioned Hanabi, her white eyes wide with worry, "what's wrong? You're so pale!"

"How about you sit down first?" suggested Tenten, looking around for a chair.

Hinata nodded, absentmindedly reaching up to brush back her bluish hair, through Ino had already put it up in the bridal topknot. She sat down in the chair Sakura had brought for her. "Tha - thank you," she muttered, biting her lip as she realized she had stuttered.

It was not lost on her friends and sister, however, who all stared in shock until Ino's face melted into one of fierce concern and determination as if she would find out what was wrong here and fix it right away. "You haven't stuttered like that in ages! I know something is wrong now, Hinata. Please, tell us."

"Right," agreed Sakura, nodding. "We're your bridal party, after all. We would be failing in our duty if we let this go, today of all days."

Still hesitant to say anything, Hinata gripped her kimono, her eyes watering as she struggled to stay composed on the outside. On the inside, through, she felt lost, her fear warring over the feeling of gratefulness she felt over the concern. _I'm glad Naruto and I have such good friends, but still...I don't see how they can help me here. If something does go wrong, nothing could be done to change it__…_

As if she were reading her mind, Tenten knelt down and patted Hinata's hand, a warm smile breaking over her face. "It's all right. You can tell us what's wrong. We might not be able to help any, but we'll do our best."

The tears began to run down her cheeks, no longer able to hold them in. A part of her felt relieved Sakura had not put her make-up on yet because if she had, it would have been ruined. "I'm - I'm sorry," she whispered, not glimpsing up at her friends, her eyes remaining on the floor and their feet. "I just didn't...I didn't want to..." She sniffed, trying to find the words her emotional mind had lost in the fray. "I just didn't think it would help."

Free hand brushing back her bangs that always fell in her face, Ino rubbed her shoulder. "Don't' be sorry, Hinata," she said gently. "We'll figure something out if we can so don't think you can't tell us anything."

Wiping her eyes, she nodded. She might as well, especially since they would just continue to insist until they figured it out unless they felt it would be worse if they pressured her. Right now, through, Hinata felt some sense of relief that she could tell them this. "It's...it's today," she started, her friends and sister listening carefully. "Something's going...to go wrong an - and then, the wedding would be ruined." She cringed, closing her eyes; not wanting to dwell on all the different ways things could go wrong.

"Wait..." said Hanabi, her voice perplexed, "what's making you think this? I'm sure that could happen. It could have happened with the Hyuuga and Konoha wedding, but why is it making you so upset now, Nee-san?"

"But that's just it," said Hinata, tearfully. "Those weddings were perfect. Nothing went wrong with them! So - so what if...? What if that means something's bound to go wrong today?"

She kept going, having felt like a dam had just burst within her, the feelings on the subject gushing out of the opening. "This is the wedding Naruto-kun and I wanted so much! We want it to be better than the others, but what if it isn't? What if everything goes wrong?"

Ino knelt down, her face carefully blank as Hinata tried to regain control over herself. "So that's what you're worried about?" she said, her voice serious and measured. "You're worried something bad is going to happen and ruin the wedding?"

Hinata nodded, unable to trust her voice any longer.

"I can understand that," continued Ino after getting her answer. "Everyone would like to have a perfect wedding. And after what you and Naruto have been through, yeah, I say the two of you deserve to have this day be as perfect as possible."

"However..." Hinata glanced up, sensing a difference in Ino's tone. "All this worrying is just going to make it worse. If something goes wrong, don't worry about it! Just keep going! A perfect wedding is only as perfect as we see it. All this ceremony is nice and all, but deep down, what matters is what you think of it all when it's over. You and Naruto are going to have a great day," added Ino, grinning, "no matter what happens. I'm positive of that."

Blinking, Hinata stared at Ino, taking it everything she had said. It all made sense. It truly did. A few of her early dates with Naruto came back to her where a little thing happened here or something went wrong there. At the time, he had gotten so stressed out in making things perfect for them until she had assured him she loved their dates anyway.

Now, here she sat, worrying over the same thing. _I wonder if Naruto-kun's thinking this way, too..._ A small smile edged onto her face. She guessed he was and hoped he had as much help as she gave him and that she had now.

Sakura nodded, kneeling down to be eye level to Hinata. "Ino's right. Besides, Naruto cares so much about you. Knowing him, he's just going to be glad you're with him. What would you rather have," she asked, a playful look in her green eyes, "a perfect wedding or Naruto?"

At once, she felt her stress and worry disappear as a fond smile appeared on her face. She had been wrong; talking had helped her with the fear. Sakura was right. Between a perfect wedding and Naruto and his cheerful laughter, the bottomless pit of inner strength that inspired so many, the times they talked with each other long into the night, his kind heart that filled her with strength, how cute it was when he got shy over something, the determination that always showed up in his blue eyes, how he cheered up when she felt down over something, his rambunctious voice that always lifted her up, and of course, his wide smile that saved her from quitting and to keep going no matter what...she would always choose Naruto. What other choice could she make?

_I love Naruto-kun so much. Of course, I would rather have him than a perfect wedding...as long as we have each other, things will always be perfect..._ She sniffed, wiped her eyes, smiling, half laughing. Again, she felt lucky she had such friends with her. "Thank you," she choked out. "You're right...you're absolutely right."

Her friends smiled, happy that Hinata was all right again. Sakura and Ino nodded while Tenten patted her shoulder, chiming in, "We're glad to help."

"Now..." Everyone turned to Hanabi who was glancing at the clock on the wall. "I think we had best finish getting ready or else we'll be late."

At once, the room erupted. Hinata walked over to the mirrors, Ino following her to make sure the kimono was positioned right. Sakura rushed to grab the uchikake while Tenten went looking for the zori sandals Hinata needed.

Amidst the noise that currently filled the room, Hinata caught her sister's eye in the mirror, the younger smiling knowingly. She felt she knew what Hanabi was thinking about her friends. But as Ino and Sakura helped her get into the larger outer kimono she wore over her regular one, she pushed her thoughts aside. Right now, they had to prepare for her wedding and she wanted no more bad thoughts disrupting it, for either her, Naruto or all the dear people they invited to attend.

_Naruto-kun..._ she thought, unable to keep the grin off her face, _it's time...for the wedding we really wanted! Our wedding!_

_oOo_oOo_

In front of Chokichi's small temple, a crowd had gathered, waiting for the last members of their party. The majority of the guests merely stood around, perhaps moving a tad when they got restless. Only one person actually displayed the strain for the upcoming event.

How exactly did Naruto go from excited with only slight tension over the day to full-blown worry over how the ceremony would go?

"Everything's here, right?" questioned Naruto as he paced in front of the steps into the temple. Was he forgetting anything? He was sure he was going to forget something and then the wedding would be ruined. That was the last thing he wanted. Everything had to be perfect today. Had to! He paused and turned to Sasuke with a frantic expression on his face. "You have my ring, right? You didn't forget that, right?"

Sasuke's eyes twitched. He looked like he wanted to punch his teammate in his face. "Yes, Naruto," he said, his voice edgy and strained. "I have it. I don't forget things, unlike you."

Naruto blinked at the accusation and then the memory of that day filtered up into his mind, causing him to cringe. "Oh, come on, Sasuke! I found it in the end, didn't I?" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, staring at the ground. "It's not like I lost it. I just left it on the table."

"Sakura nearly killed you and you delayed the wedding."

"By a few minutes!"

Kakashi stepped in the middle of the feuding teammates. "Now, you two, let's not start a fight." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, giving him the eye-smile he was known for, since even in his dark blue kimono, he still wore his mask. "Everything's going to be fine, Naruto," he said, reassuring him.

Trying to clear his mind, Naruto shook his head. He had been okay earlier in the morning, but for some reason, it all came down to two things. "That's what I keep thinking. It's just everything went well with the other two ceremonies and this is mine and Hinata's, we want it to go better than the others, but what if..." He trailed off, gazing downward with a forlorn expression. Maybe everything would go wrong here?

His one eye widening, Kakashi patted his student on the shoulder. "So that's what you're worried about? Well, I suppose you're right. Anything can go wrong, but if you're anxious about it, then that's only going to make it worse."

"He's right, Naruto," said Iruka as he came up to the two. "It's like a domino effect; you're nervous about one thing, something goes wrong and you get nervous about that. Next thing you know, everything's going wrong because you're too jumpy to see your mistakes."

Naruto blinked, thinking about what his teachers had said. He really had not thought about it in that way before.

"What do you do when a mission goes wrong?" asked Kakashi, nodding after Iruka had finished speaking.

"Mission?" repeated Naruto, then he grinned. "Well, I improvise, of course!"

His teachers both chuckled at his response. "Then improvise here," suggested Iruka. "Plow through it, don't worry." He smiled as he ruffled Naruto's hair. "You've done it before, nothing going to stop you now, right"

_Yeah...they're right..._ thought Naruto, his grin turning into a fond smile as he gazed aimlessly at the ground, closing his eyes. He had forgotten that he was not used to this; weddings were not fights or battles. But still...he wanted this one to go well, it was his wedding...Hinata's wedding...their wedding. If the ones they were forced to do had gone well, then their wedding should be perfect, too, right?

Kakashi seemed to have figured out what Naruto was thinking because he patted his student on the shoulder again and said, "Also, remember that it's not the ceremony itself that has to be perfect, Naruto. Rituals, customs, sayings, all those things are nice, but when it comes right down to it, Hinata's marrying you and she cares about you more than the ceremony. I'm sure if you had a choice between her and having a perfect wedding, you would choose Hinata in a heartbeat."

The sick feeling in his stomach, the one that had plagued him since he had arrived, faded away. His teachers' words helped him tremendously. And Kakashi was right; between a perfect wedding and Hinata and her smile, her laughter at his jokes even the ones no one else laughed at, their long talks during the night, her gentle heart that always made him smile, the way she blushed whenever he said something to embarrass her, the determination that shined in her white eyes, her seemingly never ending patience, no matter if she were listening to his latest mission or just complaining over something that happened, her soft voice when they talked it over and how she always knew how to cheer him up...

A perfect wedding or Hinata? There was not a choice to be made. He would choose Hinata any day over something perfect. _I love Hinata...I would like everything to be perfect for us, but as long as we have each other, that's perfect, too._

_What was it that I thought a week ago?_ Naruto thought, trying to remember the night before the traditional wedding. _Everyone gets nervous for their wedding, even Sasuke did, but he won't admit it. I can do this, even if I am panicking over it._ Looking up and opening his eyes, he grinned at Iruka and Kakashi. "Yeah, you're right. ...Thanks."

Not far from where his teammate and teachers were, Sasuke appeared to be ignoring the attempts to cheer Naruto up and adjusted the sashes on his dark blue kimono instead. However, unseen by his teammate, he smiled just slightly as if he had started the argument for this very reason.

"Hey, Boss!" Konohamaru's loud voice rang out, causing everyone in the vicinity to look his way. "Your bride's coming!"

Naruto ran around Iruka, no longer needing to be concerned over elders who might disapprove of his actions or nobles who expected certain behaviors. He ran through the small crowd of friends until he caught sight of Hinata, dressed from head to toe in her purple bridal uchikake and kimono.

Hinata looked relieved to see him, her eyes lighting up and hastening her steps, The rest of her bridal party past by them to join the rest of the guests, leaving the couple to a moment to themselves. "Naruto-kun..." She said, frowning, as they grasped each other's hands. "Are you okay? You look strange..."

Naruto grinned, rubbed the back of his head. "I'm fine...now at least. I was just a little worried about today, that's all."

Hinata nodded, smiling softly. "I was worried about that, too, but it'll be okay. It doesn't matter what happens today, as long..."

He could not help himself, having a feeling of exactly what she would say. "...We have each other, it'll be perfect," he finished for her. After all, they had both been through more weddings than anyone would normally have in a lifetime. They had every right to be jumpy about it, but they also had the right to relax and enjoy themselves this time.

She blinked and then smiled, her eyes watering as she agreed. "Yes, that's exactly it. We have each other and today's our day. It's going to be perfect no matter what happens."

Naruto brushed her forehead, kissing it softly. "Yeah...let's go and do this..."

They turned toward the shine, finding everyone had conveniently faced the temple, waiting to enter. Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other before laughing softly. Chokichi appeared outside, dressed in white priest robes and a large black hat that hung in the back. He smiled and gestured everyone to follow him.

The wedding party entered the temple; Naruto and Hinata leading with Hiashi, Hanabi, Neji, Tenten and Team 7 following them, Team 8 after them and the rest just finding a spot to follow. Once in, Team 7 took their seats to the left of the shine while the others and Team 8 went to the right.

Once up to the main part of the shine, Naruto looked at everyone who had gathered.

All of their classmates assembled: his team; Sakura, Sasuke and Sai, hers; Kiba and Shino. Team 10 with Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino and Team Gai with Neji, Tenten and Lee. Konohamaru and his friends, Moegi and Udon, had come. Kankuro, Temari, Gaara and Matsuri sat together, having arranging to stay over from the previous ceremony. Temari was actually whispering to Shikamaru, who did not look all that pleased with the conversation. Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame had joined them, planning to help the barbeque owner with the reception after the ceremony.

Tsunade and his teachers, Iruka and Kakashi, all gazed upon him with a very proud look in their eyes. Shizune, more refreshed than he had seen her in months, sat next to Tsunade, holding Tonton, who looked as happy as her carrier. Kurenai stared at Hinata with the same proud look his mentors and family were giving him. Gai and Lee tried to restrain themselves from spouting Youthful sayings, at least until they left the temple. Ebisu adjusted his glasses, trying to keep the Konohamaru corps from being too rowdy.

The only members of the Hyuuga family present was Neji, of course, Hiashi and Hanabi. Anko and Ibiki were present, looking uncomfortable in their kimono. Kotetsu and Izumo were joking around with Genma, who did not look too pleased with their efforts. They had even invited Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, and grandson, Inari all the way in Wave to join them as well as a few other people Hinata had met over the years with her team missions.

Everyone had come, everyone close to them, to celebrate their day. From the first people in their lives, to the ones who had joined them along the way and to the ones Naruto had to drag with them, and yet...as he stared at everyone with a happy smile on his face, his heart could not help but ache when he realized those missing...Minato, his father and Kushina, his mother, Jiraiya and Sarutobi. Even Hinata was missing someone, her mother. He glanced over at her with a soft expression. She met his eyes and he knew she felt the same, feeling the same ache he had in his heart over those lost.

Chokichi clapped to get everyone's attention. "Welcome, everyone. Now we must make a vow to the deity. Please stand up."

_oOo_oOo_

Almost everything was the same with their private wedding compared to the traditional one. The assembly stood and recited the vow. Chokichi quickly preformed the purification ceremony. Hinata glanced at Naruto, who looked more relaxed then he had during the earlier ritual.

Chokichi stood in front of the miniature shine, folding his hands in prayer. "O'Celestrial Matchmaker, today we mark the occasion of this couple who have been recently married. Please grace us with your good will." He bowed, but instead of signaling to the priestesses and having the saké ceremony performed, he turned and gestured Naruto and Hinata forward. "Will the couple please recite a prayer?"

They nodded, bowed their heads and started to recite the prayer, in unison, "O'Celestrial Matchmaker, honor our marriage today, let harmony grow within our new family..." Hinata smiled. She felt light like she would float away in happiness. "We seek happiness in our love and in our union..."

"...and in our mar...union..." Hinata glanced at Naruto, as he flinched over stumbling over the words. She smiled at him to reassure him as their eyes met. Chokichi patted Naruto on the shoulder, smiling serenely and nodding, telling him without words to continue on, that everything was okay.

He took a deep breath and returned to his prayer position. "...We ask for a good relationship to lead us to a happy life..." continued Naruto and Hinata together. And it was perfect, according to her, anyway.

"Now," said Chokichi after the prayer had been finished and they waited for the next cue, "the couple would like to recite wedding vows they have written themselves." He gestured to Naruto as some of the guests, mostly Team 7 and the rest of their friends, stared in disbelief. "Naruto-san, if you would please start first."

He faced her and held her hands, his palms sweating as gripped them tightly. He looked very anxious, which he tried to hide behind a goofy grin. "Hinata..." he started, keeping his eyes completely on her. "I see us as two blossoms of different colors. We have the same roots...yet we're different. You're quiet and I'm loud. You're calm when I'm ready to jump in without thinking."

Hinata distinctly heard a few of their male friends snorting, clearly finding that to be extremely truthful. She tried to ignore them, focusing on Naruto and his vow, instead. She felt tears in her eyes, with the way he described them. He looked away briefly, took a deep breath and then continued, focusing on her again, "But, we're the same; we both don't go back on our word, we're determined to do our best, we both wanted to prove ourselves to others. And for a long time, I didn't see any of that. But now, I don't think I could ever see my life without you."

Now she definitely felt her face wet. Naruto looked like he was getting choked up, his face was strained, tears threatened to overflow onto his face, his palms remained wet from sweat and his voice cracked as he recited the final part of the vow, the one they had written together, "I – I love you. For yourself, your personality, how you never give up and for your strong heart. I promise that I will never leave you, to cherish you and comfort you in sadness, be there for you in good and bad." His voice had gotten stronger as he paused for a moment, gripping her hands harder than ever. "Hinata," he said, his voice crackling with energy and emotion, "I make this vow and I'll never go back on my word."

The last bit echoed throughout the shine and mutters broke out, just as Naruto had predicted. Sasuke and Sakura rolled their eyes; Kiba snorted and chuckled while Ino and Kankuro shook their heads at what he considered his cheesy vow and possibly the inclusion of his nindo. Hinata knew their friends meant well and would only rib him a little bit afterward so she was not upset with them, however, she also knew Naruto had already planned ahead for the pranks that would befall anyone who mocked what he said...all in good fun, of course.

The only one who said nothing after Naruto had completed his vow was Neji, who just stared thoughtfully.

Chokichi ignored the various mutterings that filled his temple and smiled. "Now, Hinata-sama? Your vow?"

Nodding, Hinata tuned out everyone else, focusing on Naruto and Naruto only. Regardless of the fact that this was her idea, she felt very uneasy about speaking her private thoughts in front of people, even her friends...but she knew she could do this, she was not one to back down once she had set her mind to something, not after all her work to do just that. "Naruto-kun, for a long time, whenever I looked at you, I - I felt strong feelings within my heart. I fe -felt full of courage and knew I - I could get back up again," she started, trembling and stumbling over her words. She felt panicky. _I'm stuttering...like I thought I would..._ She looked down, trying to calm herself.

Naruto tightened his grip on her hands. She gazed up at him, her white eyes meeting his blue and, all of a sudden, just like her words, she felt full of courage. "You encouraged me because you had the strength to get up when you failed. I'm not sure if I would have found myself if I had not found you in the process. Your smile saved me. All I wanted to do was to walk with you side by side. You've always inspired me, Naruto-kun."

He faltered at the last few words, remembering where they came from. He looked choked up again, struggling to keep himself from crying. Hinata felt tearful herself, the day she said those words to him still etched into her mind. He smiled, a small one with happy eyes that rippled with unshed tears. Hinata took a deep breath, feeling everyone else had disappeared and it was only them, alone, telling each other how they felt, "I love you. For yourself, your personality, how you never give up and for your unrelenting spirit. I promise that I will never leave you, to cherish you and comfort you in sadness, be there for you in good and bad."

She could not help but grin widely just as Naruto was doing right now, "Naruto-kun, I make this vow and I'll never go back on my word."

As she finished her vow, she distantly heard Sakura, Ino and Tenten 'awing' under their breath, as if they found her vow endearing. But then the muttering started, the amusement over their nindo. As before, only Neji did not seem to mind. In fact, this time, he gave a soft smile. "Figures," Hinata heard him whisper.

Chokichi appeared to be immune to the nindo conflict among the guests as he continued on, "The wedding ring is a symbol of your union. Today, take these rings as confirmation of your vows to join your lives together and a sign of your love." He gestured to Sasuke, indicating it was his turn. "The rings, please?"

Sasuke stood and handed gold and silver band to Naruto, who at once prepared to slide it on Hinata's ring finger. They had opted to go with the modern ring exchange ceremony instead of creating something else. They had already done that with the vows anyway.

"Naruto," began Chokichi, "take the ring and repeat after me, 'With this ring, I wed thee..."

"With this ring, I wed thee," repeated Naruto, grinning and his voice trembling with emotion. "With all that I am and all that I have. Let this ring be a symbol of my love, of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you and join my life to yours." After the vow was completed, Naruto slid the ring onto her finger.

Hanabi gave Hinata her ring. She readied it to put on his finger as Chokichi began again, "Hinata, repeat after me, 'With this ring, I wed thee..."

"Wi -with this ring, I - I wed thee," she repeated, her voice cracking from keeping the urge to cry down. This was it, their wedding was ending. A few more steps and it would be over...and she and Naruto would finally be married...

"With all that I am and all that I have. Let this ring be a symbol of my love, of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you and join my life to yours," finished Hinata and she slid her gold and silver entwined band onto Naruto's finger, feeling a sense of happiness that just wanted to explode from her body. Holding his hands tightly, she gazed up to him, her white eyes shining with tears.

Obviously feeling the same, Naruto smiled broadly, breathing hard, tears reflecting in his blue eyes.

Chokichi brought them out of their moment, announcing the next ritual of the Tamagushi offering. The couple made a vow to the deity, clapped once and made another vow. Chokichi's priestesses handed them each a Sakaki branch, which they placed onto the shine table to make the offering official.

"And that concludes the wedding ceremony," said Chokichi as Naruto and Hinata turned around afterward. The priest turned to them, bowing slightly. "Naruto-san, Hinata-sama, thank you very much for allowing me to conduct this ceremony for you. It has been the upmost pleasure." He smiled. "I will pray that the two of you will have a happy and fortunate life ahead."

Hinata took her now husband's hand as they thanked Chokichi for everything they had done for them. It was over, they were married now, husband and wife. While not everything had went the way they had expected it to be, they had had their small and quiet wedding, just like they wanted.

And as Naruto kissed her, she considered it all perfect.

_oOo_oOo_

Sasuke was the first to greet the newly formed couple after the ceremony. "See?" he said, with a smirk on his face. "You had nothing to worry about, you idiot."

Naruto just grinned in response. His earlier anxiety and tension had been replaced by exhilaration and bliss over finally getting married to Hinata. "Yeah, well, who said I was nervous to begin with?" he responded, getting a laugh out of his new wife.

The response was met with various eye rolling by his friends, including Sasuke. Everyone was making their way out of the temple, Naruto and Hinata taking their time, wanting the moment to last a little while longer.

"What was with that nindo stuff?" commented Kiba, his tone half joking. "Seriously. You corrupted Hinata."

There was some agreement at Kiba's statement, but before Naruto could find a stingy retort to reply with, Neji intervened. "Actually, I found it quite appropriate, especially considering how they found each other to begin with," he said, with a knowing smile on his face.

Flashes of the Chuunin exam appeared and disappeared in Naruto's mind and he smiled, hugging Hinata with one arm. She nodded at her cousin's statement as she shared a look with Naruto. "That's exactly why we used it. Our nindo is one of many things that brought us together."

No one could argue with that so they just smiled in return or in some cases, smirking and nodding in agreement. Everyone continued to exit the temple, especially those eager to get to the reception being held afterward. "Barbeque!" yelled Chouji, as he rushed toward the gate.

Shikamaru's voice could be heard trying to calm his best friend down, "Wait, Chouji! You've got to wait for...ugh! Troublesome..."

As Naruto and Hinata moved to exit the shine, Naruto thought he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He paused and looked back, but saw nothing. _Strange..._ he thought, puzzled. He had thought for sure he had seen a flash of blond, long red hair, a towering mane of spiky white, red and white robes with a smoky pipe and someone who resembled Hinata with a kind smile, but perhaps it had just been his imagination.

He started to go out and realized Hinata was standing right in front of him. "Hey, Hina..." he started to say, but paused, as he noticed that she was staring straight where he had been looking, a forlorn expression on her face.

However, before he could say anything, Kiba and Lee come up to them and pulled them out into the festivities that had started outside. Naruto brushed off what he might have seen and Hinata's curious look as all their friends showered them with praise and birdseed to celebrate their union. Throughout it all, he still felt the proud eyes of Tsunade, Kakashi and Iruka on him. Only now...it seemed to have multiplied by four...

_oOo_oOo_

The reception for Naruto and Hinata's wedding was something that many in Konoha would likely remember for some time. Of course, if asked by anyone, any time was memorable when the Konoha 12 got together.

The wedding party quickly exchanged their kimono with tuxedos and dresses, the very outfits they wore for the Konoha wedding. Hinata felt it would be a waste to buy a brand new wedding dress and Naruto agreed.

"Except this time," he had said when they had talked about it, absentmindedly adjusting the collar to his orange jacket, "I'm unbuttoning that shirt collar. I don't care what anyone says!" Needless to say, all the males within the party agreed and had unbuttoned their collars.

The reception lasted long into the night and felt more like the party many expected the receptions to be. They danced, they had music blaring, they had barbeque and ramen, much to Naruto's delight, as well as other more appropriate reception food. There had been so much going on, Hinata was sure she, Naruto, their friends and anyone remotely involved would remember it all.

From Gai and Lee's youthful explosions as they congratulated Naruto and Hinata on their marriage to the eating contest Naruto, Chouji, Kiba and Lee held that nearly made them sick. Tsunade tried to sneak saké into the reception and Team Gai minus Lee blocked her at every turn, even under the threat of D-Ranked missions for a year. Naruto played pranks on everyone who snickered even once at his wedding vow and the ensuing destruction that took place when he pranked Sakura had everyone ducking for cover. Shikamaru said something inadvertently to Temari and ran away from her, followed by Gaara and Kankuro and Matsuri, the last one attempting to calm her husband and in-laws.

The reception held many surprises to all from Kurenai's son, Yoshito, who revealed what Shino did in his off-time, which caused jaw dropping from many, including his teammates. Hiashi gave a heartwarming speech to his daughter and her husband that seemingly ran the blood of the males in the room cold and caused them to glance in pity at Naruto, who opted to hide behind his wife, which reminded her to have a talk with her father over teasing Naruto like that. Sai, who realized he could speak freely now, ran his mouth as usual and Ino tried to protect him from the onslaught that followed.

Everyone laughed when Naruto smeared cake over Hinata's face at the wedding cake feeding moment and the shock that occurred when Hinata retaliated, doing the same on her turn to feed him.

But the reception had to come to an end and as the morning light broke over Konoha, Naruto and Hinata waved good-bye to their friends, heading toward their very well deserved honeymoon.

Hinata felt completely relaxed as she and Naruto stared out at the sunset from the balcony of the inn they were staying at. He was standing up, leaning against the doorframe while she sat in a chair, both dressed in the simple blue kimono provided. They had been at the inn for a few hours, already enjoying the use of their private hot spring they had managed to get.

"This is beautiful, isn't it, Hinata?" asked Naruto, his voice for the first time in a long while at ease.

"Yes, it is." Then she smiled slyly over at him. "Are you sure you're not worried about Sasuke-kun when we return to Konoha?"

Stretching his arms, Naruto chuckled. "Nah, I'm not worried at all. He was so out of it when we left this morning, I doubt he'll remember what Kiba, Lee and me did in the first place."

She giggled slightly, remember what the three could not resist doing to Sasuke when he was not looking and the results afterward. "I bet he will. I'm sure he's already angry over it."

Grinning now, Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, if he does, I can handle it. I can handle anything he throws at me. Kiba and Lee, however..." He shivered and glanced southward where Konoha had to be located. "I hope they manage to find hiding places before Sasuke comes to his senses."

This time, Hinata could not help but laugh out loud, joined soon by Naruto, at their friends' possible fates at the hands of his teammate. She only hoped Sasuke would not harm them too badly, but figured Sakura would make sure of that as she usually did.

Hinata sighed, gazing out at the scenery, remembering their ceremony. She certainly missed the thrill of finally marrying Naruto after being together for so long, but here, amidst such greenery they could enjoy in addition to everything the inn offered them, she almost wanted this moment to last forever as well. After everything they had been through, she felt like they both earned this relaxation. "...Naruto-kun...I'm glad all of that is over..."

He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "Yeah, me, too. But I would do it all again if I had to," he added with a fond smile. "If it meant marrying you, Hinata, I would do it all over again."

She blushed, hiding her face behind the sleeves of her kimono. "I would, too," she said softly.

"But you know..." he started, causing Hinata to glance up at him in confusion, "maybe if any of our children want to elope, maybe we should let them?"

Scratching his cheek, he gazed at her sheepishly as if he was not sure of her reaction. Hinata blinked, taking in what he had said. Then she started giggling, laughing so hard that she almost fell out of her chair. Naruto looked disappointed. "So that's a no, then?"

She shook her head, waving her hands around to assure him she was not making fun of him. "No, no, Naruto-kun, that's not it. It's just...I don't think you'll think that when it's actually time for our children to get married." Her face turned red, whether from the fact that she had laughed so hard or the thought of the two of them having children together.

But Naruto seemed to have taken her answer well. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. Taking her hand, he pulled her out of her seat and held her close to his chest, his arms wrapping around her waist, holding her tight. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for it to happen, then."

Hinata rubbed her cheek on his shoulder, content to staying in this position for as long as possible. "Yes, we'll have to wait then."

They gazed out into the already set sun, leaving only a small ring of orange in the horizon as the dark blue-black of night took over, the small white stars peppering the sky. Naruto and Hinata continued to stay out on the balcony, watching until the moon had risen on their first night as a married couple, ending their first day as one. They did not know what their future held, but they knew they could take it when it comes.

Because they excelled at never giving up and never backing down; their ninja way of never going back on their word. And now Naruto and Hinata would do it together, as husband and wife.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed all of that! I really worked hard on all of this! This is the first time I've written lot of the characters before so I hope they all were in character. I don't think I had this many OCs before, either. I hope you enjoyed them, too. :)

Congrats to Naruto and Hinata on their marriage…marriages… You're earned a nice long honeymoon for that effort! ^_^

As for the trick on Sasuke, I haven't really imagined what it was except Kiba and Naruto are sneaky and Lee is oblivious to their efforts and only wants to see Sasuke have a good time! I guess Naruto's marriage ends at his honeymoon…uh-oh! XD That's really what inspired the round-up on the reception.

Shino's big secret…start imagining… XD I guess it could involve a girl…

And now…I'm out! Thank you for staying with me this long, especially with the rapid speed I posted all these chapters, one after another! Thanks to Tennyo again for helping get through this. Never would have finished if it weren't for her.

I hope you enjoyed this story! *collapses*

Thanks for reading! - NessaMoon


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